What Makes a Good Reporter?

The qualities of a good reporter are discussed in the article, “To be a Successful Reporter”,which states that all good reporters require a well-rounded list of characteristics in order to be successful. The qualities listed for a good reporter are as follows: a generalist, quick, curious,pleasant, honest, and courageous.

A journalist must be a generalist because a journalist is expected to be knowledgeable and up to date with everything that is going on in the world. People rely on the journalist to provide them with the revolving current events, so it is imperative that journalists have a variety of knowledge about each topic that is going on. Topics that journalist should be able to cover vary from politics, weather, headlines, entertainment, and sports.

A journalist should also be quick because the news is consistently changing and new stories are being produced on a daily basis. People want news that is up to date, so it is the responsibility of the journalist to be expeditious when reporting the news. The article states that once a story is assigned to the journalist, he is expected “to go after it”. The journalist should then swiftly and promptly jump on the job and get in contact with whomever needed to provide an accurate,timely story.

A curious journalist is said to make the best journalist. It is important to be curious because curiosity leads the journalist to digging for the best story to put in the news. The more curious the journalist is the better chances of producing the best and most intriguing story.

The journalist understands that there is always something important happening in our country and around the world, it is her job to be on her toes and always thinking about what she can write about next.To be a successful journalist, it is important to be pleasant. Often times the journalist is put in positions where we have to talk to people in order to come up with our stories. It is easy to understand that the more personable the journalist is the more comfortable people will be to talk to her. Interviews will be easier to land and produce smooth results if the interviewee feels comfortable enough to open up to her. A journalist is often serves as a host, and hosts are expected to act with kindness and good nature when addressing others. One of the most important qualities of a good journalist is to be honest.

Journalists and reporters are expected to be honest about anything and anyone the write about out of courtesy for their readers and the people the story is about. The article states that the journalist should be “obsessed with accuracy” so that people will take the story seriously and can rely on truthful information.

Finally, a successful journalist is courageous. Journalist have no room for fear when trying to land great stories. They are expected to reach out to whoever they need to reach out to in order to ensure their story’s legitimacy. She also has to be willing to face adversity and criticism without fearing rejection and failure. Once a journalist embodies each of these characteristics, success should be the result.