Bias is everyone’s worst nightmare when it comes to news and news reporters. As the days pass, it becomes harder to find straight-forward, honest journalists to deliver ground-breaking, new information. Everyone wants to tie in their opinions with slightly, altered facts to fit what they want the story to be.

The best part, we pay for journalism, which means in some ways we are paying for these news dupes. If you subscribe to newspapers, magazines, news websites and pages, or better yet, pay a phone bill that uses social media and the internet, you are paying for journalism, real or not.

My ideal career is to be a successful and well-known journalist myself, but what I have come to understand is that getting a journalism degree does not make you a journalist. It can help you get a job no doubt, but can it automatically get you a credible reputation? No, it can’t.

A credible journalist will always present truthful and up-front information and facts because they respect not only themselves as a writer but also their readers and watchers. The job of a journalist is to enlighten viewers with both sides of a topic or account, whether they support it or not.

Perhaps what really makes journalists effective is their curiosity, fearlessness and ability to be loyal to their sources and their audiences. One will find themselves lost in a career like journalism if they don’t have a curious fiber in their body that makes them crave investigation of a new story. However, they also must be brave. A reporter cannot be afraid of asking deep or hard-hitting questions (within reason).

But, a journalist also must recognize that to get good, “juicy” details and quotes they need to be professional and trustworthy. No source wants to give honest information to someone they are unsure of. Someone who is personable and relaxed is more likely to get a better interview than someone who invades others’ privacy and acts without a care in the world.

These qualities play substantial roles in success for journalists, but one big factor that will attract real journalists is a job with a credible news source. News sources that present both sides of an issue are the reliable places to look for information.

Since we pay for our journalism or news, we should be getting the truth. Some thoughts to keep in mind when checking for truthful reports: make sure the sources you are following are staying honest, professional, and providing information that has no bias.