By Mike Wilson
Like you, my professional life is busy. It seems we are always under pressure to track down sources, meet deadlines, get articles and interviews finished, and plan for the next issue.
In fact, many of us spend so much time ‘doing’ this profession of journalism that we rarely take time to think about ‘why.’ The other day, my 16-year-old daughter made me stop to think about this question. She is at that point in her life when she is thinking about the future. Naturally she was curious about my job as an editor at a magazine.
“Good writing skills are in demand no matter what career path you take,” I told her. But what’s the difference between being a writer and a journalist? she asked.
Above all, a journalist is programmed to always tell the truth, I replied. Sure, there are different kinds of journalism being practiced. Advocacy journalism. Business journalism. Agriculture journalism. But presenting the facts must be the top priority for any journalist to maintain credibility with an audience.
I learned this from a wise old college professor at J-school over 30 years ago. In any case, I began to think about why good journalism really matters. In fact there’s a PowerPoint presentation with that title sitting here on my laptop. It was the topic of discussion at last fall’s Master Class, held in Canada before the Congress.
So, why does good journalism matter? In a world awash in information, who will readers/viewers turn to? News sources they believe in!
Journalism takes place in many ways – television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet, to name a few. But every good journalist knows that telling the truth is more important than anything else.
Our Master Class discussion focused on ethics and why credibility with an audience was so important. Once you develop a reputation for telling the truth all the time, your audience will grow. That’s true no matter what communication platform you work in. Hiring journalists who have this in mind is an intangible asset for any media outlet.
In the next year or so, the IFAJ will be investing time and money to build better connections with journalists around the world. Some of them will be hungry to learn how to do a better job as a professional journalist. We are focusing our attention on our own member guilds, as well as journalists who may not have the benefit of a free press society. We will do this through networking, online activities and other methods. This will require dedication and volunteer time on the part of many IFAJ members.
I hope that as we begin this new global strategy, we will keep in mind the ultimate goal – to help nurture and promote good journalism as a profession. This is something we all believe in, and it is the core value that will motivate us as we move into this new phase of IFAJ growth.