Looks like a journalist, smells like a journalist...

Today from Buzzmachine

Tom Rosenstiel in today's Boston Globe asks and answers the question, what is a journalist?

A journalist tries to tell the literal truth and get the facts right, does not pass along rumors, engages in verifying, and makes that verification process as transparent as possible.
A journalist's goal is to inspire public discussion, not to help one side win or lose. One who tries to do the latter is an activist.
Neutrality is not a core principle of journalism. But the commitment to facts, to public consideration, and to independence from faction, is.
A journalist's loyalty to his or her audience, even above employer, is paramount.

Pass along this definition. I think that at the heart of journalistic principle, we need to remember to define the medium itself. As a journalist, it is easy to look at what is gonig on around you. Tell the story of what other people are doing and ignore your own intentions. In my six semesters at NYU, I have never seen a definition of purpose so clear.