I learned today that I was wrong when I said on Saturday that I am not a journalist. Learned when I read several articles on the topic, “Who is a Journalist?”
Diane and I woke up this morning in our Florida vacation house where we have been since early January. We plan to get back on the road soon.
The journalist question came to mind as I worked on my notes from the Sylectus conference I covered last week. My full-time job is truck owner-operator but I also write this blog and do freelance writing for a trucking magazine. When I did a Google search on “Who is a Journalist?” the journalists who answered the question in articles they wrote overwhelmingly defined my freelance activity as journalism. Accordingly, I hereby retract the statement I made on Saturday.
This is important because I have news to report from the Sylectus conference and I want to do a good job. Full-time professional journalists, at least the good ones, follow a code of ethics and best practices. Certain conference attendees trusted me with confidential information that I promised to keep off the record. For my articles to have credibility, it is important that I get the quotes right and accurately convey what happened at the conference.
While I am doing this part-time and more for the fun than the money, there are responsibilities in play. I want my readers and the people I interviewed to know that I take them seriously.
