If you write something factual, relevant, concise, and insightful, you might be a good journalist. I don't know yet. That's why I'm here. He does this by telling his reader what happened, why it happened, who someone is, why they are the way they are. Most importantly, the journalist explains why these seemingly random facts are important enough to warrant precious moments of the reader's attention.
Journalists are the people entrusted with defining reality.
It used to be said that journalism is the first draft of history. Today, CNN is the first draft, newswires are the second draft, newspapers are the revision, and magazines are the synthesis. Cyberpostings are just noise. Journalists have a heavy burden. We are supposed to challenge the status quo, raise questions.