In my opinion, the main responsibility of a journalist is to report the news in a truthful, unbiased and apolitical way. As a result of this, I endeavor to make certain that my own writing adheres to this criterion. As an amateur columnist I feel it is important to work in correlation with these codes right from the offset, so as to ensure my writing is of the highest standard throughout my entire career. I hope that this is evident in my writing assignment.

In this article I will be looking at the importance of accurate, unbiased journalism and how journalists have applied this to my own columns and articles. Journalists have a number of roles and responsibilities that they must consider throughout the course of their entire career; but of course this depends upon the area of journalism with which they are involved. For the sake of my article I will be concentrating on the main area of journalism we have explored thus far and that is reporting the news. Whilst reporting the news, journalists should take into consideration the audience and prospective publication, their editor and importantly, their own personal interests (for example, any legal obligations).

While some journalists may choose to go against what could perhaps be described as an ethical grain, I feel that a truly successful journalist would always consider the above before submitting anything for publication. However, one could perhaps put forward the argument of public interest. In our country Afghanistan either it is printing media or broadcasting media both are quietly under censorship and freedom of speech is occasionally under estimated. Sometimes our media forgets their real task and take some political sides.

I as a writer and as professional columnist would really feel that there is a dire need of awareness among the medium in order to respect and avoid violating the rules and regulations which are to be implemented unto the journalists and journalism. It is our main responsibility to print or report the true faces and scenarios of the events which occur. There are some few steps which I think is important for the journalist to follow.

Accurate

A journalist has a service to the media prescribing public to make sure that the news they report is accurate. This is enforced by self regulating bodies and media laws such as libel and defamation. Other laws are in place to make sure that journalists do not impose upon court trials, such as contempt of court. All that it would take is one piece of information taken down incorrectly or missed out altogether and the credibility of a news story could be lost completely. While I don't think that I have made any errors in my work so far, it is definitely an issue for me.

Unbiased

Further to accuracy, journalists should ensure that their news writing is unbiased and presents the basic facts for their audience to determine their own set of judgments. Any opinions should be in the form of attributed quotes and a good journalist will show both sides of the story. As our assignment entailed writing up a report about any incidents I will try my level best to report and write the columns excluding any sort of favoring a side.

Apolitical

The point which really matters is the free and fair reports and news that has to be without sided actions. The journalist and reporters are to be free of supporting any political party, our tasks and duties are to present the true incidents’ apart of being politically reporters, it is because any sort of side taking or vicious reports would violate the code of conduct for which are set in the national judiciary. 

Public Interest

The final area I wish to explore is public and human interest. Above the ethical responsibilities, journalists are encouraged to write interesting news as that is what really sells newspapers. Public interest is the Holy Grail for journalists and ideally all stories we write would draw a large amount of it. Public interest can also be used as a defense for when journalists go a little too far out of their way to obtain a story. We are to broad cast or print the news keeping in mind the real interest and zest of our public and our readers or viewers.

Conclusion

While I completely understand the need for bias and political standing to be kept separate from news stories and reports, not all aspects of the journalism trade call for this. For example, columnists build up an entire fan base and reputation based upon their witty and interesting take on the news. Being objective and impartial in journalism will serve a purpose as far as simply reporting the news goes, but one must learn to associate certain roles and responsibilities with different areas of the craft. I have always thought of myself as a competent writer, but have found the news writing side somewhat challenging since I started my job.

One cannot truly appreciate the need for upholding the codes of conduct set in place by the country or have a complete understanding of the necessary responsibilities being a journalist entails, without the firsthand experience of working with real people. I feel that my own stories in this assignment were successful pieces of news writing and further than that, of a sufficient standard for publishing in regional newspapers.

However, I feel that the things I have considered in this report will be the catalyst for me to get out and improve my confidence and abilities further and actively try to investigate stories with a serious view to getting them published. There might be many other several key points which are to be kept in mind whilst reporting or writing articles, editorials and columns. The point to ponder is the real worth and value of media in an independent society where everybody can flourish freedom of speech and freedom of press. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and be hopeful that a day will come when our country is free from every prejudice and hatred. The journalist will truly realize their core tasks and responsibilities.