Journalism: The Heart of Our World (A Must-read Article for all Determined Journalists)

 

By: Ridwan Olanrewaju (Scripturist)

"Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air."

                      —Henry Grunwald

The writer of the implicit words is the journalistic pen, imagine a world without the collection, editing and distribution of literature in hurry; it's going to be higgledy-piggledy. Before unfolding the pros and cons of journalism, I will like to water the ground with some scholastic definitions of the term. 

According to Chris Milk- Journalism is about bringing people to an event or something that they couldn't attend." 

"Journalism is the day-to-day activities of gathering, processing and disseminating of information to the dispersed heterogeneous audience through a mass media.." — Odedele Temilade

Journalism is the current activities of fact-gathering, fact processing, and fact dissemination to the fact finders." — Scripturist 

"Journalism is a profession and craft that deals with the gathering of information, processing of information and dissemination of the information to the audience as NEWS " —Anuoluwapo Lebi

"Journalism is the process of sourcing new information, gatekeeping it and acquainting the masses with the exact events that took place, using various media platforms." —Scripturist.

Journalism is a sui generis craft and profession specially meant for spectacular people. We need journalism in every facet of human endeavour, especially in the current world in which truthfulness is as scarce as masquerade's saliva. Imagine, if there is no journalism, everyone will be swimming in the ocean of fabrications and falsehood.

Almost everyone can write, but not everyone can write in a journalistic manner. Journalism is a profession that is governed by a mountain of ethical standards: Its contents, relationships with the audience and the government, strategy, interviewing techniques, and other journalistic operations must be considered. There are tons of things you need to know as a practising journalist. You must be a careful listener, feeding one's brain must always be your hobby, you must be an empirical researcher, and a lot more.

Tellingly, I'd like to welcome you to the realm of journalism, which is limited to three phases: Newsgathering is on the first phase, news processing is on the penultimate phase, and news dissemination is on the last phase. News writing will make you an outspoken person by learning new words every day, you become a wordsmith. News processing will make your brains think extraordinarily because it's uneasy for a mere person to cast a news headline that must be similar to the hotsy-totsy short skirt of an attractive lady, let alone the news editing which is a no-mistake job; it requires a lot of expertise. News dissemination will make you a liberator who saves people from oblivion and misinformation of current happenings.

Moreover, various scholars had unveiled different types of journalism looking at the area of focus, mass media deployed, the qualification of journalists, the objectivity and the subjectivity of journalists, etc. The types of journalism include print journalism, broadcast journalism, photojournalism, digital journalism, sports journalism, political journalism, business journalism, advocacy journalism, arts journalism, celebrity journalism, crime journalism, defence journalism, investigative journalism, economic journalism, editorial journalism, community journalism, crime journalism and campus journalism etc.

According to Tom Stoppard, "I still believe that if you aim to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon." Journalism is the most sophisticated weapon that fights life battles. It's to change a coward pen user into a valiant writer. It propagates the slave-and-son law. Likewise, it avails you the opportunity to see the unseen that needs to be seen. There is no room you will not enter if you are a working journalist, practicing real journalism is synonymous with becoming a polymath. That's the reason why journalists are textbooks of greatness and master of current happenings. What a life-changing profession!

Overall, its universality makes the world a global village as opposed to the primordial period, when information transmission is similar to walking from earth to heaven. It's practised all over the world, its functions include entertainment, education, information, mobilization, interpretation of current events, creating awareness, resolution of national and international disputes, enlightening the public, moulding public opinion, defining national agendas, and protecting individuals'  rights, among other things.

Furthermore, some sects of people have expressed concerns about some major aspects of journalism; such as the fact that you will be away from home frequently and that stringent deadlines are also challenging. On social media, you can face a shit storm. It's also possible that you'll get chastised, and many other hazards.

According to Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria rests on Chapter 2, “the press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people." Section 39(1) of the Constitution states: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.” It goes further to state in 39(2) that: ”Without prejudice to the generality of Subsection(1) of this Section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas, and opinions. Although the 1999 Constitution recognises the media as the society's watchdog, yet, this constitutional protection is restricted because the major Nigerian media was controlled by the government throughout much of its history, with some even to this day.  A media that is not thorough, or authoritative can't claim to hold government leaders accountable for any misdeeds. The fact is that if you are not careful, the profession can seem to you a sleeping-on-fire occupation. In some countries like Nigeria, the government has always been a thorn in the flesh for the press's objectivity. If you are not well-versed in journalism ethics and standards, you may find yourself amid a government threat.

More importantly, some people decline to perform the job since it carries the possibility of injury; danger, peril, and many other risks. The truth must be exposed at this point: every occupation has its unique set of hazards. Just be committed, dedicated and enthusiastic in the pursuit of your objectives, then you will achieve the goals.

Some argue that journalism is a profession while some said it's a craft, the clarifying question; 'Is journalism a profession or craft?' The twist is that we should accept the two facts since they are not contradictory. Journalism is a profession because you have to go through the rigmarole of training before you can become a skilled journalist. It's also a craft because it requires manual dexterity i.e the skilful way of doing something with your hands.

 

At this juncture, it's essential to elucidate the differences between these three terms: mass communication, mass media and journalism. Mass Communication refers to the act of disseminating information to the masses/public. Journalism is about gathering, processing and distribution of news. While mass media refer to the media or the methods employed to disseminate this information. News is broadcast through various mass media such as newspapers and magazines, radio and television, and via internet or online media. Without journalism, all other subsets of mass communication such as public relations and advertising will be otiose.

Dear up-and-coming journalists, the fundamental knowledge you have regarding journalism is just a pathway to journalism. Theoretical knowledge of journalism is just a baby aspect of it, embracing the pragmatic aspect is the milestone. I would like to tell you that as a working journalist, you will gain the necessary journalistic skills poco a poco and you will become a skilled one who links the globe with current information and make the world a global village.

This is a clarion call to love Journalism; the Numero uno of Mass Communication, the Shredder of Truth,  the Voice of the Voiceless, Eyes of the Blind, The Pen of Justice, The Fourth Arms of the Government, The Watchdog of the Nation, the Killer of Falsehood, the Investigator of Cover-up, the Writer and Sayer of implicit words, the Heart of our World.