Duties and Responsibilities of a Reporter PDF

Duties and responsibilities of a reporter A newspaper’s reputation and credibility depend largely on its reporters. They can make or destroy a newspaper. They are the life blood of a newspaper which educates and informs its readers on what is happening in the city, state, country and world at large...

Duties and responsibilities of a reporter A newspaper’s reputation and credibility depend largely on its reporters. They can make or destroy a newspaper. They are the life blood of a newspaper which educates and informs its readers on what is happening in the city, state, country and world at large. What they present to their readers helps them to form their own judgement of what they read, whether it is complete or incomplete and whether it has provided answers to all the important questions. Reporters in a major newspaper are of four different categories. They are firstly, the city reporters, who form the majority and who cover the city. Secondly, there are the mofussil correspondents ( the term reporter is generally used only in case of city reporters) who are reporters in the districts of the state in which the newspaper is published. Thirdly, there are the national correspondents who are stationed in the capitals of the various states and lastly, there are the foreign correspondents who supply news to their papers from foreign countries. A reporter may be accurate, determined, a good citizen and take part in moulding the views of other people, but he cannot play his part successfully unless he keeps his eyes open and his mind attuned to the present, future as well as the past. He must not express his own views in what he writes, but everything he writes must express his mind and its condition. A reporter must respond to the urge and thrill of the news. Getting the news is not a matter of routine. Unless a journalist has a thrill for news, he cannot prove to be an efficient news gatherer. An ideal reporter, however brilliant and imaginative, must maintain a sense of responsibility. He must balance things in such a way that he can keep to the interests of the organization without sacrificing the public good. He must realize that he holds in his hand one of the reins by which mass movements are forged and that he must use it purposefully and cautiously. His over-enthusiasm should not land him into a situation where he may be called irresponsible. While reporting about a particular community or during a general reporting he should be careful enough not to hurt the sentiments of any specific community. The words should not be used as an ignition agent of the emotions. While reporting about a communal riot the words and tone have to be neutral and they should not suggest favouring or supporting any one community, which may contribute to worsen the situation. A simple issue may be presented in an offending way which may, in turn, hurt the sentiments of people belonging to a particular community. While reporting scandals the names of people should be printed only when there is adequate proof of their involvement, otherwise it may bring bad name to the organization. So, to put it in a nutshell, a reporter is supposed to state only the facts and not give his own opinion on various issues. He must neither be biased nor judgemental.