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Journalism is a discipline of collecting, verifying, reporting and analyzing information gathered regarding current events, including trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as journalists.
Journalism is sometimes called the "first draft of history." Even though news articles are often written on deadline, they are usually edited and proofread before being published.
Journalists' interaction with sources sometimes involves confidentiality. Many Western governments guarantee the freedom of the press. By extension, these freedoms sometimes also add legal protection for journalists, allowing them to keep the identity of a source private even when demanded by the police.
The main activity of journalism is the reporting of events by stating who, what, when, where, why and how and explaining the significance and impact of the event or trend. Journalism exists in a number of media: newspapers, television, radio, magazines and the internet as a newcomer.
Generally, a distinction is drawn between reporting (just the facts) and opinions: such as editorials, (the official opinions of the paper) and op-ed columns ("opposite the editorial page" commentary).
However, this distinction is sometimes difficult to make. Journalists may unintentionally fall prey to propaganda or disinformation. Journalists may give a biased account of facts by being selective in their reporting, for instance focusing on anecdote or giving partial explanation of actions. Foreign reporting may be more susceptible, because few people can and do check such reports.
Newspapers and periodicals will often contain features (see under heading feature style at article news style) written by journalists, many of whom specialise in the form.
Types of journalism
Related topics
External links - Codes of ethics for journalists working in EU countries (http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/)
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