April 1st, 2005

Journalism is a verb, not a noun

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Via Jeff Jarvis

Many knickers are twisting into knots over the questions ofwho is a journalist and how to save journalism. But those are the wrong questions.

Journalism is not defined by the person who does it or by the medium or the company that delivers it.

Journalism is not a thing. It is an act: The act of informing is journalism. It’s a verb, not a noun.

And no one owns journalism. It is not an official act, a certified act, an expert act, a proprietary act. Anyone can do journalism. Everyone does. Some do it better than others, of course. But everyone does it.

Realizing that — embracing that — will be the key to saving journalism: its quality and its business.

btw, I am preparing for a slew of blogger April Fool’s joke in a few hours (when the people in the west wakes up). And I look forward to the trackbacks, pings, and links to the fav. April Fool entries :P

At least, I am already an April Fool two days earlier.

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