Six Attributes of A Successful Reporter

The six traits of a successful reporter are as follows: generalist, quick, curious, pleasant, honest, and courageous. After reading “To Be A Successful Reporter”, I understand better the attributes of a great reporter. Honesty is one of the attributes that stood out to me. Through our lectures and lessons in this class, we have learned that choosing this career means taking a moral oath to tell the truth and defend the public’s right to know. Not only do we take an oath to inform the public so they can make sound choices, but we also are called to investigate, do an analysis of the situation at hand, have social empathy, mobilize people, and be a public forum for citizens. Honesty plays a crucial role in all of these responsibilities of a reporter. If a journalist/reporter is not honest, that can jeopardize the public’s trust in them, causing a reporter to often lose their credibility or have to work twice as hard to gain that trust back. Another trait that I highly value as a journalist is having the ability to be courageous. In this chosen career, there are a lot of unexpected variables that can happen when doing your job, so having the courage to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and also go out on a limb in pursuit of a story shows a determined journalist versus an average reporter. It is often easy to get comfortable or lose sight of motivation when you’re doing something for so long, but I hope that through my deep-rooted passion for journalism, I am able to continue with a courageous mindset. Considered the fourth estate, we have a responsibility as journalists to keep the government in check and defend the public’s right to know. Not only does that take honesty, but it takes courage to publicly go against what is wrong in an attempt for the betterment of others