Importance of journalism with special reference to responsibilities

of journalists.
Posted on May 19, 2012
Journalism is the investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience for
different purpose. Journalisms role at the time was to act as a mediator or translator between the
public and policy making elites. The journalist became the middleman. When elites spoke,
journalists listened and recorded the information, distilled it, and passed it on to the public for
their consumption.
Journalists have many roles to play commonly as; watchdogs, investigators, moderators,
entertainers, analysts, informers, editors, commentators, and advertisers. They are community
activists, agenda-setters, and voices for the voiceless. They are public servants, keepers of public
record, protectors of democracy, and promoters of public dialogue. Thanks to these
responsibilities media is playing, it has earned the recognition of fourth estate.
The importance of journalism comes from the peoples right to opinion and expression. Since
right to opinion and expression would not be a reality without the press. People today depend
greatly on the press for being informed. Journalism is taken as inseparable part of any democratic
system. The Press plays a vital role in democratic society. It is an institution in its own right. The
Press has earned the recognition of Fourth state. Journalism is the voice of the voiceless and it
plays the role of watch-dog in our society. It is strong bridge between concerning authorities
and the people. It handles all public issues. In fact, press is the peoples open forum. Press makes
such an environment where people get information and be prepared to take part in democracy.
Peoples participation is the foundation of democracy. Press is the pillar of democracy.
Similarly, the main principles of journalism are; Accuracy, Balance and Credibility. One of the
important responsibilities of journalist is to maintain their principles in their reporting. The
information should be based on truth and facts which provides accurate news. Apart from that,
journalist is responsible for giving space to every one without biasness. While reporting one
should be balance. If we compare the same news from two or three different newspapers, we find
distinction in terms of how much one reporter is leaned towards certain groups or political
parties. In the other hand, citizens/ audiences should have some sort of faith over media. Without
credible information, there would be no trust PRESS and could have no strength. Thus
maintaining accuracy and balance provides credible information.