If young people wished to be actors-actresses earlier, modern school-leavers want to be journalists. They are attracted by the status of a free artist.

Some people think journalism is creativity, others - a craft, but it`s known: journalists will never change their uneasy profession to another. The constant change of events, talking with interesting people and active life attract them a lot.

What is journalism? People answer differently. But there are some famous statements:

Journalist (fr. Jour - day) is a member of a periodical edition who picks, remakes information quickly, writes competently and well his interesting talks. Journalists make for our news in newspapers, on TV, radio, and on the Internet. Because of that, there are different journalist specializations: and you can find here

- contributor of periodical editions (newspapers, journals, magazines)

- journalists of electronic mass-media (TV, radio, Internet)

- photojournalists (sometimes photos aren`t only illustrations to an article, they can be a high-quality product).

Such trade as stringer has been widely spread recently. A stringer is an independent journalist who takes ideas and topics from hot places. It helps him to get the topical news directly from the event center often with a risk to life. Often stringer-correspondent works as a regular journalist in some provincial broadcasting company, but he tries to earn money in the capital channel.

Today the journalist works in a periodical edition, tomorrow he will be a TV or radio-correspondent. He often changes his specialization.

In Russia, the first printed newspaper appeared in the XVIII century. On the 17th of December 1702 first editions of "Vedomosti" were published. Newspapers included abroad and home events. Peter the First took part in the compilation of the paper choosing important news and events.

A journalist needs professional qualities and skills to correspond to the requirements of the Russian modern mass-media. They are:

1. Literacy, erudition, style.

2. Good practical skills of a journalist.

3. Talent

4. Talkative

5. The Professional etiquette, decency.

6. Life experience.

7. Figurative thinking.

8. Good memory.

9. Creative and art abilities.

So, for a tele- and radio reporter it`s important to have accurate diction and excellent reaction, especially at work on air. The leader of a show should be able to formulate interesting questions, to listen and hear the interlocutor and to direct the conversation to the necessary course.

The work of the journalist consists of several stages.

- Information search. The work of the journalist on 90 % consists of a search of the necessary information. Observation is an important property for each journalist. This ability cannot have "days off and lunch breaks". There is even a professional method - for a certain time the journalist becomes a part of that mini-community about which he is going to write. For example, goes to work as the waiter in the restaurant and studies life from within. But it`s terribly hard to make "tasty" information from the official materials.

- Information Processing. The collected material should be studied, analyzed, the facts should be rechecked attentively, to clear the arisen questions.

- The Feedback. The published article, the gone on the air plot find the response in the hearts of people. Readers, radio listeners, televiewers quite often write letters to edition, call. The journalist is obliged to trace the opinion of an audience.

In spite of all the charm profession of the journalist, there are several pluses and minuses. Some of the pluses are:

- Active life

- Meetings and speaking to many famous, talented and interesting people

- Possibility to travel, to be everywhere

- A status of a free artist (you haven`t to work from call to call)

The minuses are:

- Unlimited working day (a journalist has to work a lot to be the first among other correspondents)

- Impossibility to be off from work, because there are many things to write an article or to make a plot for a TV show

- Journalism is a dangerous profession

If you want to be a journalist you have to say "goodbye" to holidays and weekends. Journalism is an assignment for all your life. It`s usual to answer the night calls of your boss, to have urgent affairs and trips, sometimes you can see terrible dreams about your article. But you shouldn`t wait for recognition from society for your hard work and sleepless nights. However, journalists won`t change their job for another, because their work is from the heart: not every men can write affecting articles, make plots that can help you feel and help you to be better.

It`s possible to earn big money in journalism only when you recommend yourself. It depends on your abilities, on good luck and, of course, on your knowledges. If you wish to earn to your life by journalism, you should do the same daily. The main care of the correspondent is to sell information and for this purpose it`s necessary to find a "bomb" in everything. Sometimes you will discover America.

It`s necessary to prove your indispensability to get the work. You should be a master in many fields to be able to edit texts and to make a candy from hopeless material, to invent interesting themes, to compose improbable headlines, to work in a non-stop mode.

Journalistic work is a 25-hours working day increased on fat unknown X. You never know what will happen today, when you will finish your next article…