So, I guess I'm a journalist now

This post originally appeared on This Week in Pinball on September 3rd, 2025.

I’m not a journalist.

I tell this to myself over and over again.

Journalists don’t make money. I can’t be a journalist.

For the longest time, I resisted the idea.

Journalism takes work, and training, and formal education in things like, you know, journalism. I’m just a marketer who can string a few words together and build a website.

No, no, I’m not a journalist.

And yet, every day, as I do the work, I have the same thoughts.

I mean, what do I know about codes of ethics, transparency, and fact-checking? I used to run ad campaigns for pharma companies, for crying out loud!

People just like reading what I write. It’s topical, and pinball is fun. Anyone could do this. I’m building a platform, a means of distribution, a legitimate business, not a blog.

I’m not a journalist, am I?

But a funny thing happens when you start doing the work of a journalist every day. You learn about being a journalist. And all that’s required to do journalism well. You start exploring the SPJ Code of Ethics, geeking out over transparency reports in a cycling blog, and networking with other journalists. You start , cultivate relationships with voices in your beat, and build systems for tracking and synthesizing large volumes of information.