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Keshun
Student
Memphis, Tennessee
2
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A day in the life of a journalist involves?
#Journalist
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2 answers
Valerie F
medical student
161
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
Valerie’s Answer
A journalist will spend time in front of their computer researching events and stories to write about. However, they also go into the field and go to events where they are able to interview people. They typically have deadlines to submit their work by, and so they will work tirelessly until their work is done. There are many different types of journalists (news, food, culture, music, etc.)
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
David Eaton
Media - Content - Transformation
11
Answers
Updated
David’s Answer
Hi Keshun:
Wow, that's a question with a bunch of different answers.
Generally speaking, there are two types of journalists: general assignment journalists and beat journalists. This distinction pretty much holds regardless of platform, i.e. TV, digital, radio, newspaper, etc...
A general assignment reporter (GA) is pretty much what it sounds like: a reporter who is assigned to cover a story (or stories) that need to covered that particular day. He/she will go to work, check-in with her/his editor and receive the day's assignment. It could be a school board meeting or a big house fire or the mayor's press conference — literally whatever news needs to be covered that day. Once you have an assignment you'll make phone calls and/or do interviews to gather all the information you'll need to produce the story you've been assigned. Sometimes this can be done entirely in-house, i.e. over the phone or text, and sometimes you'll have to leave the office and go talk to people in person. You'll spend the day "gathering string," as we used to call it, with the goal of producing your story by your assigned deadline. You may consult with your editor during the day for ideas and guidance, and, more often than not, she/he will have some changes to your story once you've filed the first draft. The two of you will work together on your piece until you are both satisfied with it or you hit your assigned deadline (or both). Once you've filed your story, your day is done... until tomorrow. General assignment reporting is challenging because you'll never know exactly what you'll be doing day-to-day, but it's also very engaging for the same reason. It's hard to be bored and it's a great way to hone your reporting skills because you are forced to become an "expert" on something new each day.
The work flow for a beat reporter is similar to a GA in terms of collaboration with an editor and meeting your deadline, but there is one major distinction: a beat reporter focuses on a single topic and really becomes a subject matter expert on that topic. You could be a beat reporter covering the White House or your local government or the environment or the entertainment industry, for example. As you can see "beats" can range from very focused — the White House — to really broad — the environment. A beat reporter assigned to the White House might file a story every day, while an investigative reporter might file a piece once every couple of months. A good example of the latter is The New York Times reporters who broke the news about President Trump's tax returns. It took them months of reporting, researching and writing before that story was ready for publication. Months during which they filed no stories but worked on a single one. Think about the number of pieces their counterpart at the White House filed in that same time-frame.
I hope this answer is helpful and provides some insight into the day-to-day lives of some journalists.
Wow, that's a question with a bunch of different answers.
Generally speaking, there are two types of journalists: general assignment journalists and beat journalists. This distinction pretty much holds regardless of platform, i.e. TV, digital, radio, newspaper, etc...
A general assignment reporter (GA) is pretty much what it sounds like: a reporter who is assigned to cover a story (or stories) that need to covered that particular day. He/she will go to work, check-in with her/his editor and receive the day's assignment. It could be a school board meeting or a big house fire or the mayor's press conference — literally whatever news needs to be covered that day. Once you have an assignment you'll make phone calls and/or do interviews to gather all the information you'll need to produce the story you've been assigned. Sometimes this can be done entirely in-house, i.e. over the phone or text, and sometimes you'll have to leave the office and go talk to people in person. You'll spend the day "gathering string," as we used to call it, with the goal of producing your story by your assigned deadline. You may consult with your editor during the day for ideas and guidance, and, more often than not, she/he will have some changes to your story once you've filed the first draft. The two of you will work together on your piece until you are both satisfied with it or you hit your assigned deadline (or both). Once you've filed your story, your day is done... until tomorrow. General assignment reporting is challenging because you'll never know exactly what you'll be doing day-to-day, but it's also very engaging for the same reason. It's hard to be bored and it's a great way to hone your reporting skills because you are forced to become an "expert" on something new each day.
The work flow for a beat reporter is similar to a GA in terms of collaboration with an editor and meeting your deadline, but there is one major distinction: a beat reporter focuses on a single topic and really becomes a subject matter expert on that topic. You could be a beat reporter covering the White House or your local government or the environment or the entertainment industry, for example. As you can see "beats" can range from very focused — the White House — to really broad — the environment. A beat reporter assigned to the White House might file a story every day, while an investigative reporter might file a piece once every couple of months. A good example of the latter is The New York Times reporters who broke the news about President Trump's tax returns. It took them months of reporting, researching and writing before that story was ready for publication. Months during which they filed no stories but worked on a single one. Think about the number of pieces their counterpart at the White House filed in that same time-frame.
I hope this answer is helpful and provides some insight into the day-to-day lives of some journalists.