What is journalism? What are the criteria for making someone a good journalist? Since the invention of the printing press (and probably even before that) those same questions have been posed in the centuries that followed (maybe not verbatim, but you get the idea). Although print journalism is still alive and (relatively) well, in the last 75 years or so, the world has been more and more focused on what journalists have been on their screens.
For years, television networks like NBC, CNN and Fox have established their place in our lives and provided us with information that we have the right to know. Our parents got Walter Cronkite and now we have Anderson Cooper. Famous faces we have seen and trusted for years consistently inform us about politics, global affairs, etc... But what happens when that information is merely glazed over, reiterated the same way no matter what channel you switch to, or even ignored? People end up turning to other sources — as is their right.
In recent years, satirical news shows like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight have become many people's primary sources of news, or at least, their favorite source. For many, comedic personalities who have never claimed to be journalists like Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah and John Oliver are starting to be seen on the same level as respected names such as Anderson Cooper and Lester Holt. Is that really an issue for concern, though?
For me, the answer is no. No matter how distanced from "real" news programs that newer satirical shows claim to be, it can be said that they can be trusted just as much or, dare I say, more? For example, on his weekly broadcast, John Oliver dedicates the bulk of his airtime to discuss one particular topic. The logistics of Donald Trump's supposed wall between the U.S. and Mexico, Puerto Rico's serious debt problem, and abortion laws are just a few issues his show chose to discuss (in great detail, I might add). Although Oliver's delivery is definitely comedic in many ways (I will admit a little bias here, because I think he's amazing), the root of his discussion are always grounded in real facts with a multitude of research done on each topic every week.
On the other side of the information-via-television spectrum, we have media personalities like Bill O'Reilly who claim journalistic integrity, yet have arguments that are primarily opinionated and not factually-based and yell at anyone who opposes them. Just look up the guy's name on YouTube and you're bound to find a video of him screaming at someone who wants to get their point across.
To me, a journalist is someone who wants to provide the general public with impartial information acquired over an extended period of time. The qualities that make a good journalist are honesty (a given) and humility (and by that I mean, accepting that whatever findings you may come across in your quest for knowledge may not always coincide with your personal beliefs). While comedians I've mentioned have built their career on making others laugh, their commentary should not be viewed with a condescending lens. I deeply revere many journalists who have, rightfully, become household names with their own hefty time slots on television, but I also respect those who can inform me with a laugh or two attached.
