Top 10 Journalists in the World: Our Reserached List 2024 (Updated)

Journalism’s status as the last resort and a watchdog against corruption and injustice imposes an undeniable responsibility on journalists to be as skillful and hardworking as they are moral and ethical. However, it can be claimed that the digital environment we live in today, with its instantaneous access to information, clickbait culture, and citizen journalism, has greatly hindered the spread of excellent journalism. Despite this, journalists who showcase outstanding work and are considered highly influential risk-takers in today’s media still exist. In this article, I will provide a list of the top 10 journalists in the world.

But before diving to know these powerful people let’s hold a firm grasp of what journalism is all about and how you can become one if you want to pursue this career path.

Journalist Overview: Who Is a Journalist?

A journalist is a professional communicator who gathers, verifies, and disseminates information to the public through various media channels. Though journalism is a broad profession that comprises various roles, the goal of a journalist is to educate the public on matters considered important in a specific field. Ideally, by reading, watching, or listening to journalistic reports, people become better informed and capable of making better judgments on certain topics.

There are many commonly recognized forms of journalism, each based on a specific focus or medium. These include:

#1. Investigative Journalist

Investigative journalists examine deeply into stories, frequently discovering hidden truths and exposing injustice. They are diligent researchers and interviewees who excel at piecing together difficult facts to uncover systemic flaws or malfeasance. Unlike beat reporters who cover day-to-day news, investigative journalists can devote months or even years to a single story. Their work is crucial for keeping institutions and individuals accountable, and it has the potential to cause huge societal change. This job is critical to safeguarding the integrity of democratic societies and frequently requires a strong ethical compass and resilience in the face of adversity. 

One of the top names in this field of journalism is Gleen Greenwald who is known for his reporting on government surveillance programs based on leaks by Edward Snowden.

#2. Beat Reporter

Beat reporters focus on a certain issue or sector, such as politics, education, health, or crime. They establish competence in their chosen field by cultivating sources and staying current on the latest advancements. This area of expertise enables them to deliver in-depth coverage and analysis, establishing themselves as trusted experts in their fields. Unlike general assignment reporters, beat reporters frequently create stories that go beyond the surface, providing depth and continuity to ongoing situations. Their regular presence and focus make them vital to news organizations and their readers, who rely on them for thorough and authoritative coverage. 

One of the top names in this field of journalism is Maggie Haberman who is a political reporter for the New York Times.

#3. Data Journalist

Data Journalists are experts at finding stories in numbers. They use data analysis and visualization techniques to uncover trends, patterns, and insights that might otherwise go unnoticed. This type of journalism requires a blend of statistical skills and storytelling ability, as data journalists must not only interpret complex datasets but also translate their findings into compelling narratives. Unlike traditional journalists, they often collaborate with programmers and designers to create interactive charts, maps, and graphics. Their work is increasingly important in an age where big data plays a significant role in shaping public policy and opinion.

Amelia Wattenberger is one of the influential people in this field of journalism she is a data visualization engineer and author of ‘’ Fullstack D3 and Data Visualization’’ known for her expertise in creating interactive and engaging data visualization.

#4. Multimedia Journalist

Multimedia Journalists are versatile content creators who work across various platforms, including video, audio, and online media. They are skilled in using different technologies to report, edit, and produce stories that can be consumed on multiple devices. Unlike traditional print or broadcast journalists, multimedia journalists often handle all aspects of production, from capturing footage to posting content on social media. Their adaptability and digital savvy make them well-suited for the modern media landscape, where audiences expect dynamic and interactive news experiences.

One of the top names in this field is Anderson Cooper he is known for his coverage of breaking news and international events.

#5. Feature Writer

Feature writers create in-depth articles that go deeper than the average news report. They are storytellers who emphasize the human element, bringing characters and locations to life through vivid descriptions and narrative approaches. Unlike hard news reporters, feature writers have the creative flexibility to explore a story’s background, context, and ramifications. Their work frequently contains profiles, human interest stories, and long-form journalism, which gives readers a better understanding of the topics they cover. Feature writing is essential for engaging viewers with content that is impactful and memorable, even if it is not timely.

David Grann is one of the top names in this field of journalism and he is known for his investigative journalism and true crime reporting.

What Does a Journalist Do?: Job Description

Journalists are the public’s investigative eyes and ears, dedicated to discovering and publishing the truth via thorough investigation, interviews, and analysis. They create engaging narratives to inform, educate, and occasionally entertain audiences while adhering to the ideals of honesty, fairness, and objectivity.

In an ever-changing media landscape, journalists adapt to multiple formats and platforms, ranging from print and broadcast to digital and social media, to ensure that their message reaches and connects with their intended audience.

Below I have provided a full and comprehensive template guide of a journalist’s job descriptions.

After going through the types of journalism one can choose as a career path and the detailed job description template I provided above what should come to your mind next is How do I become a Journalist? Good! You asked the right question.

Embarking on a career as a Journalist is an exciting and dynamic journey that requires a blend of passion for storytelling, a commitment to truth, and a relentless pursuit of information. To become a journalist, you must be prepared to negotiate the fast-paced media industry, develop a great eye for detail, and have the ability to deliver complicated information understandably and compellingly.

This career path demands not just a solid educational foundation, but also practical experience, a strong ethical compass, and the acquisition of a varied range of abilities spanning from research to digital proficiency. If you are committed to the profession of journalism and want to enlighten and engage the public, take these steps to build the groundwork for a successful and influential career in journalism.

#1. Earn a Degree

Firstly, a strong educational foundation is important for aspiring journalists. Pursue a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related field to learn the core principles of reporting, writing, and media ethics. Courses in journalism law, multimedia reporting, and investigative techniques will equip you with the knowledge necessary for the industry. Consider a minor or elective course in a specialized area of interest, such as political science or economics, to broaden your expertise. Additionally, advanced degrees or certifications in journalism can further enhance your credentials and understanding of the field.

#2. Gain Experience

Most colleges and universities offer opportunities for students to gain valuable journalism experience. As a college student, you might get involved in your student newspaper, radio station, TV station, or magazine. You could also seek out internships at local papers and broadcast stations.

If you’re interested in entering a particular field of journalism, such as sports or the arts, make sure to attend and report on as many related events as possible. Doing so can help you develop a robust portfolio of clips to demonstrate your interest and skills in a specific niche.

#3. Develop Essential Journalism Skills

Journalism is a craft that requires a wide skill set. Improve your writing and editing abilities to present information simply and concisely. Develop research and interviewing skills to collect correct information and deliver in-depth coverage. Develop multimedia abilities such as photography, video, and audio editing to meet the demands of modern digital journalism. Critical thinking and the ability to work under tight deadlines are also necessary.

Engage in activities such as blogging or contributing to school newspapers to put these skills to use in real-life scenarios.

#4. Get an Entry-Level Job

After you graduate, it’s finally time to go out into the world and report. You can start by finding an entry-level job that builds on the skills you learned in college and prepares you to climb the ranks in your organization.

Several entry-level reporting jobs suit recent college graduates. A news assistant, for example, takes on clerical duties for editors, writers, and other staff in a newsroom or broadcast station. News assistants collect and distribute communications and press releases and assist with research and reporting when needed.

You might also consider finding a job as a fact-checker. Fact-checkers are vital to upholding the credibility of news organizations. These workers evaluate the validity of facts portrayed in a story and confirm data, dates, historical information, and identities.

#5. Build Your Professional Network

Networking is essential in the journalism industry. Connect with experienced journalists, join professional associations like the Society of Professional Journalists, and attend industry conferences and workshops. Social media platforms, especially Twitter and LinkedIn, are important tools for journalists to follow industry leaders, share work, and engage with the news community. Networking can lead to mentorship, collaboration opportunities, and potential job leads.

#6. Move Up the Ladder

As you advance through different jobs in journalism, you’ll take on greater responsibilities and can move into new roles such as manager, editor, or news anchor. Becoming a news director or manager of a radio or TV station is another option. You might also expand to larger news markets if you started in a local newsroom.

The skills you gain in entry- and mid-level positions set you up for success in managerial or editorial roles. Managers and editors require sharp communication skills and a constant finger on the news pulse. They’re responsible for determining which stories to publish, managing reporters, and editing stories for release.

Essential Skills for Journalists

Below is a comprehensive checklist guide outlining the essential skills for journalists

Work Environment for Journalists

Many journalists work for newspapers, news magazines, websites, radio stations, and television networks. These journalists work a regular 40-hour workweek, but they frequently work extra hours on weekends and holidays to finish stories. Some freelance journalists sell their completed work to news organizations. Whether full-time or freelance, the work is often fast-paced, as journalists typically have standards and deadlines to meet with each assignment.

Journalists spend a large portion of their time traveling or in the field, pursuing stories and leads and conducting interviews. They may spend time in a newsroom or another office environment attending briefings, pitching and receiving assignments, or preparing works for publication. With computer technology, writing can take place practically anywhere. Some journalists spend long periods away from home and the office. For example, war correspondents typically cover their field in foreign countries, and political journalists often follow candidates on the campaign trail.

Top 10 Journalists in the World

Journalism is not a job for the faint of heart or for those seeking financial gain. Any reporter will tell you this.

Despite that, it is not difficult to find courageous and committed journalists who have spent their whole lives exposing corruption, reporting on wars, and unearthing political and economic crimes.

While it is impossible to compress the world’s best journalists into a tiny list, here are the top 10 journalists who have influenced (and continue to influence) the world of news and the history of the profession.

#1. Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper is an American journalist who currently hosts his own news program, Anderson Cooper 360. He has been hosting the show since 2003 after having been an ABC News correspondent in 1995 and then an anchor on CNN a few years later. The Anderson Cooper 360 news program propelled the host to become a household name after he covered the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for 60 Minutes on CBS. Since 1993 when he won a Bronze Telly Award for his coverage of famine in Somalia, Cooper has continuously won numerous awards for his work. Some of these include four Emmy Awards (he was nominated on five other occasions), a Peabody Award, and a National Headliner Award.

#2. Amanpour

Amanpour is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. She is the Chief International Anchor for CNN and host of CNN International’s nightly interview program Amanpour. She is also the host of Amanpour & Company on PBS. Amanpour was previously the global affairs anchor for ABC News in the United States. In 2015, According to PR firm, Burson-Marstellar, she was one of the journalists who is most followed by world leaders on Twitter. Amanpour’s journalistic career spans three decades, during which she interviewed Hosni Mubarak (she was the only journalist to do so) and Muammar Ghadafi during the Arab Spring.

For her outstanding reporting, she has won every major broadcast award, including nine News and Documentary Emmys, an inaugural Television Academy Award, three DuPont-Columbia Awards, and two George Polk Awards. She also received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2011 as well as a Giants in Broadcasting award in the same year. In addition, Amanpour is a member of the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation, and also the Center for Public Integrity.

#3. Kate Adie

The BBC’s chief news correspondent became one of the best-known faces on television for her reporting on major wars and conflicts including the Gulf, former Yugoslavia, Albania, Rwanda, China, and Sierra Leone.

Adie, who joined the BBC in 1968 as a studio technician on local radio, shot to fame after she covered the 1980 siege of the Iranian embassy in London.

“I never desired to go into war zones,” she said. “I never had any thought about it. It sort of just happened as part of the job.”

Currently a presenter of the From Our Own Correspondent show on BBC’s Radio 4, she has also authored many books including The Kindness of Strangers, Corsets to Camouflage, Nobody’s Child: The Lives of Abandoned Children, and Into Danger.

#4. Walter Cronkite

Referred to as the ‘most trusted man in America’, Walter Cronkite was the former anchor and managing editor of the show CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.

A correspondent for United Press during World War II, he famously covered the Nuremberg trials in Germany. After joining CBS, he reported on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the battles over civil rights, the Vietnam War, the Apollo moon landings, the death of Beatles musician John Lennon, and the Watergate scandal.

Considered a pioneer in broadcast journalism, he was famous for his catchphrase “And that’s the way it is,” at the end of every bulletin. A winner of numerous awards, his 1996 autobiography, A Reporter’s Life, was also a best seller. He died in 2009 aged 92.

#5. Hu Shuli

Hu Shuli is a Chinese journalist who is currently the editor-in-chief of the media group, Caixin Media which she founded in 2009. Shuli had also been chief reporter and international editor of China Business Times before founding Caijing, a business and finance magazine which she was also editor-in-chief for 11 years. Considered one of the most respected reporters in such a media-restrained country, she was listed as the 87th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2011 – the same year she was listed among the Top 100 Influential People by Time magazine. Known for her bold prowess in the industry and her investigative work on fraud and corruption, she’s currently a board member of the International Women’s Media Foundation. 

She also sits on the Reuters Editorial Advisory Board as well as having a regional advisory role in the International Center for Journalists. In 2017, Hu was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune.

#6. Bob Woodward

Robert Upshur “Bob” Woodward is an American investigative journalist who is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated journalists of this century after having exposed the Watergate scandal during President Nixon’s time in office. He covered much of the news reporting on the scandal with colleague Carl Bernstein whilst working as an investigative reporter at the Washington Post in 1972. He is currently the associate editor of the Post. Woodward has since written and released 16 books – all of which have been national best-sellers; 12 of them being No.1 national non-fiction best-sellers. 

Due to his and Bernstein’s reporting on Watergate, the Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 1972 and his contributions to coverage of the 9/11 attacks also won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2002. He has otherwise received nearly every other major journalism award in America.

#7. Veronica Guerin

The fearless Irish investigative journalist, murdered by drug barons in 1996 when she was just 36, has inspired two movies – including one starring Cate Blanchet, a biography, and numerous songs.

Renowned for her exposés of crime lords in Dublin, Guerin, who wrote for the Sunday Independent, received several death threats, and was even shot in the leg. But she carried on her reporting unfazed.

Her sudden death, which shocked the entire nation, is also believed to have led Irish officials to establish the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Survived by her husband and son, Guerin was posthumously named one of the International Press Institute’s 50 World Press Freedom Heroes.

#8. Lester Holt 

Lester Holt  (Full name: Lester Don Holt, Jr) is an American broadcast journalist who has served as anchor of NBC Nightly News since 2015 and also serves as anchor for Dateline NBC. He was the first Black person to solo anchor a weekday network nightly newscast. He has been with the NBC news network since 2000 and before that was with CBS News for 19 years. Known throughout pop culture, Holt has made cameo appearances in The Fugitive (1993), Primal Fear (1996), episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and more. 

#9. Peter Jennings

Considered one of America’s most distinguished journalists, Jennings was a legendary broadcaster who reported extensively on breaking news events.

He was in Berlin when the Berlin Wall was built and when it came down; he covered the civil rights movement in the US and South Africa; he was one of the first reporters to go to Vietnam in the 1960s and has reported extensively from the Russian Federation.

On December 31, 1999, Jennings anchored ABC’s coverage of Millennium Eve, ABC 2000 for 25 consecutive hours and was watched by around 175 million viewers. Jennings also co-authored two books, The Century and In Search of America.

He died in August 2005 at age 67 because of complications caused by lung cancer

#10. Louis Theroux

Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British journalist and documentary filmmaker with the BBC. Most notable for his exploration of marginal and off-beat cultural subjects in his show Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends and celebrities’ daily lives in When Louis Met…, the famous broadcaster is one of television’s most recognizable documentarians. His career began as a writer before he transitioned to television as a correspondent for Michael Moore’s satirical news program, TV Nation. The famously unassuming reporter is known for his ability to get his subjects – most of whom live extremely exclusive lives – to open up easily with the persona of merely a dispassionate observer. 

He has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on TV Nation, as well as having won two BAFTA Awards (nominated three times) and a Royal Television Society Award (nominated twice) for When Louis Met… and Weird Weekends.

Who Is the Famous Female Journalist?

Ida Tarbell, Nellie Bly, and Ethel Payne are said to be the most famous women journalists. They all contributed to the field of journalism by providing social commentary on major political and social events and reporting on controversial topics.

Who Is the Best Football Journalist in the World?

Fabrizio Romano is the best football journalist in the world. Romano is known for his use of the tagline “Here we go!”, used when announcing a transfer deal. According to 90min, he is one of the “most trusted” transfer-related pundits in the sport. Because of his reputation and social media following, several football clubs have asked him to participate in player announcement videos. In 2022, Romano was included in the European Forbes 30 Under 30 list for media and marketing. At the 2022 Globe Soccer Awards, he won the award for “Best Football Journalist”, and at the 2023 edition, the award for “Best Digital Journalist.

The Average Salary of a Journalist

Journalists earn an average of $20,400 per year. Specific salaries are likely to vary according to factors such as specialty and medium. For example, news reporters and editors report earning significantly more than the national average, at $36,150 and $49,963, respectively.

Location can also affect earnings. For instance, journalists in Montreal, Quebec, report average earnings of $51,011. In contrast, those in Penetanguishene, Ontario, report earnings on par with the national average.

Is Journalism a Good Career Path?: Bottom Line

If you love to tell powerful stories, you may be considering a journalism career. But perhaps the shifts in the media industry have you wondering — is journalism a promising field? Will I have to worry about job security? I thought newspapers were laying off reporters and magazines closing down altogether? Don’t give up on a journalism career path just yet. Many of the recent changes in journalism are positive. Technology and digital media have created new opportunities for aspiring journalists. And if you want to make it to the top powerful and influential journalist you need to put in the hard work, dedication, and commitment.

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Reference

• gulfbusiness.com
• ca.indeed.com
• tealhq.com
• forbes.com
• nyfa.edu