What Are the Top 10 Qualities a Great Reporter Must Possess?
What are the top 10 qualities a great reporter must possess?
Here it is in my humble opinion.
1)Curiosity-
A reporter MUST absolutely be a very curious person. This is by far the number one thing and it outweighs all of them. Interested in how things work, and why people are they way they are.
2)Communication Skills
You have to be able to communicate with people, interpret what information they give you, and present it to others.
3)Integrity-
This goes without explanation.
4) Ability to be neutral and unbiased
5)People Skills
A lot of hard news/beat reporters don’t have great people skills, but the best reporters do.
6)Writing Skills
This is kind of a no brainier. Even broadcast journalists benefit with writing skills. Journalists need to be able to write clearly and using few words.
7)Persistence
Craziest thing, some people you have to write about don’t like you or don’t care about you. You have to be able to call them over and over and over and follow them around like a stalker sometimes to get the information you need.
8)Guts
You need to be brave enough to write the truth, no matter what the consequences. Sometimes it’s not easy. You end up almost becoming friends with your sources over time, and then one day you may be forced to write something negative about someone who thought they were your friend. That’s just the nature of the business. Also, sometimes you have to get mean with people who try to stonewall you and hide the truth.
9)A skill or interest in something else
It helps a lot if you have a skill or interest in something else. For instance journalists that know a lot and have a lot of interest in a certain subject are usually valuable.
10)Competitive Spirit
Journalism is a competitive business. Jobs are few and far between. Also, once you get a job, you have to be competitive to beat your opponents (other stations, papers) to the story.
Here it is in my humble opinion.
1)Curiosity-
A reporter MUST absolutely be a very curious person. This is by far the number one thing and it outweighs all of them. Interested in how things work, and why people are they way they are.
2)Communication Skills
You have to be able to communicate with people, interpret what information they give you, and present it to others.
3)Integrity-
This goes without explanation.
4) Ability to be neutral and unbiased
5)People Skills
A lot of hard news/beat reporters don’t have great people skills, but the best reporters do.
6)Writing Skills
This is kind of a no brainier. Even broadcast journalists benefit with writing skills. Journalists need to be able to write clearly and using few words.
7)Persistence
Craziest thing, some people you have to write about don’t like you or don’t care about you. You have to be able to call them over and over and over and follow them around like a stalker sometimes to get the information you need.
8)Guts
You need to be brave enough to write the truth, no matter what the consequences. Sometimes it’s not easy. You end up almost becoming friends with your sources over time, and then one day you may be forced to write something negative about someone who thought they were your friend. That’s just the nature of the business. Also, sometimes you have to get mean with people who try to stonewall you and hide the truth.
9)A skill or interest in something else
It helps a lot if you have a skill or interest in something else. For instance journalists that know a lot and have a lot of interest in a certain subject are usually valuable.
10)Competitive Spirit
Journalism is a competitive business. Jobs are few and far between. Also, once you get a job, you have to be competitive to beat your opponents (other stations, papers) to the story.