What is journalism?

(Image from reportr.net)

For our first blog for journalism class, we were asked our thoughts about the question, "what is journalism?"

I have found it difficult to come up with a phrase that encompasses everything I think journalism is, so I decided to compile a list.

Journalism:

• tells important stories to people who care about them
• strives for the truth
• finds and discloses all sides of a story
• gives a voice to those who can't speak for themselves
• uncovers what shouldn't be covered
• tells audiences why the story is important
• makes the complicated understandable
• allows for true democracy by ensuring transparency and informing voters
• changes the world

After compiling the list, I decided perhaps I was answering the question "what is good journalism?". But isn't that what all journalists should strive to achieve?

Thoughts?