According to Dictionary.com, journalism is, "the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news or of conducting any news organization as a business." While correct, this meaning doesn't go quite deep enough. Yes, journalism is reporting on all the latest news events, but it is also much more. Journalism is like a race. Every news station has journalists and reporters ready to strike at any given moment. Whether a news station is the first to report a disease outbreak, or the latest celebrity marriage, it is all about who gets there first. Being the first to report on any breaking news is a big deal, because who wants to know if Beyonce is actually having another baby, two days late? No one. Everyone has to know the news right as it happens. That is where the term "citizen journalism" comes into play. Nowadays, anyone can be a journalist. So someone that can't even get their license, can give me breaking news? It may sound a little scary at first, but it is actually a great thing. Modern technology now allows anyone to record, or take a picture of anything, and share it to millions of people. Social media cites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, make sharing and accessing these videos as easy as a click of a button. In the case of journalism, there have been so many lives saved by a picture or video taken by a random bystander that happened to be on their phone. In addition, these recordings act as real life, hard evidence that can't be manipulated or twisted by the words of a "non-biased" news station. So yes, anyone can be a journalist if they are there at the right time and right place. And when I say anyone I mean anyone, from an 80 year old man to a pubescent-filled tween (as long as they have a phone).
https://twitter.com/nytimes The New York Times twitter page is a great representation of modern journalism. News in 140 characters or less is exactly how us American's like it. Simple, fast, and easy. And I can't forget to mention the endless amounts of Hillary and Trump memes that are at your very fingertips.
