What is Journalism

If your school had a fire drill today, how would your neighbors find out what happened? Someone has to find out the facts, check that they are true, and tell people. That someone is called a journalist!

- What a journalist's job is - The difference between a fact and an opinion - Three questions journalists always ask - Why telling the truth matters so much in journalism

A journalist is a person whose job is to find out what is happening, check if it is really true, and share it with other people. Journalists write for newspapers, talk on the news on TV, or post stories online. Some journalists tell us about a big soccer game. Some tell us about a new park opening. Some tell us about important things happening far away.

A fact is something that is true and can be checked, like 'It rained 2 inches yesterday.' An opinion is what someone thinks or feels, like 'Rainy days are the best.' Good journalists mostly tell us facts, and if they share an opinion, they say clearly that it is an opinion, not a fact.

Before writing a story, journalists ask: Who was there? What happened? Where and when did it happen? Answering these questions carefully is called 'reporting.' A journalist might call people who saw the event, look at photos, or visit the place themselves before writing a single word.