I am not a journalist... am I?

Am I an analyst, a consultant, a campaigner or a journalist? And does it matter?

Am I a journalist?

It’s a label I’ve resisted for a while, and for good reason. Being a journalist carries a lot of baggage with it.

Journalists get certain privileges that aren’t available to the rest of the public. They attend events they’re covering, from conferences to sports games, without having to pay a fee. They might be given advance copies of important reports. Parliaments and governments give journalists access to ask them questions, give them passes to get into secure buildings

Of course, that’s not all journalists. It’s not even most journalists. But there’s something to the idea that journalism confers certain privileges — maybe even rights.

Why would I fight against a label that’s all upsides?