Anyone can become a journalist. I've written an award winning novel which has thrust me into the company of other writers. Most call themselves free lance journalists. Most want to write that novel. There is no line between the two. Many are responsible for the 'content' of today's news. In their hearts, they just want to tell a good story. They have encouraged me to write articles, which I have, because I'm building a platform. Am I now a journalist? My publisher chose to market "Memory Lake" as biography because it is 95% true. It needed the 10% to weave an entertaining story. This seems to be the same standard applied to all writing. If its 90% true, its true. This should not be the standard for news. To the irritation of Registered Dietitians, anyone can say they are a nutritionist. The RDA is trying to regulate who can use this term. I'm not a fan of more government regulation, but perhaps the great schools of Investigative Journalism should take the initiative and frame a debate for setting credentials on who reports the news. Ethical standards could be applied to ensure actual facts are reported, not just an opinion. Perhaps some initials are needed after a name, CIJ, "Certified Investigative Journalist". When we want entertainment we can visit a blog. When we want news we could visit a CIJ website.
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We need a line between creative writing and investigative journalism
Anyone can become a journalist. I've written an award winning novel which has thrust me into the company of other writers. Most call themselves free lance journalists. Most want to write that novel. There is no line between the two. Many are responsible for the 'content' of today's news. In their hearts, they just want to tell a good story. They have encouraged me to write articles, which I have, because I'm building a platform. Am I now a journalist? My publisher chose to market "Memory Lake" as biography because it is 95% true. It needed the 10% to weave an entertaining story. This seems to be the same standard applied to all writing. If its 90% true, its true. This should not be the standard for news. To the irritation of Registered Dietitians, anyone can say they are a nutritionist. The RDA is trying to regulate who can use this term. I'm not a fan of more government regulation, but perhaps the great schools of Investigative Journalism should take the initiative and frame a debate for setting credentials on who reports the news. Ethical standards could be applied to ensure actual facts are reported, not just an opinion. Perhaps some initials are needed after a name, CIJ, "Certified Investigative Journalist". When we want entertainment we can visit a blog. When we want news we could visit a CIJ website.