As a Life Associate of the Freelance division of the Institute of Journalists, I feel qualified to contribute to this ill-tempered and ill-informed exchange. Anyone who writes for the press regularly and professionally, whether as a full or part-time occupation, in any capacity and not just that of 'reporter' [which I have never worked as -- I was exclusively a critic and feature writer] is a Journalist. What on earth makes either of you imagine that "journalist" is exclusively synonymous with "reporter"? The term "journalist" certainly subsumes "reporter", but not exclusively: it means that everyone who contributes, or processes [eg the editor, department editors, subeditors &c] written copy to the press. Any one of them will be a Journalist, qualified for membership of the NUJ if full-time, or the IoJ if part-time but with other commitments (my erstwhile situation). Just remember what the "J" stands for in those abbreviations, and stop being so silly as to argue that anyone is not a "journalist", but is only a "columnist". A columnist is a journalist. So Sir Max is, at that, currently a Daily Mail journalist; even if not employed fulltime on the paper as a reporter.

This was a silly piece of drift. Take my {longtime IoJ-member's} word for it, you would both do well do drop it.

~M~
Freelance Associate, Institute of Journalists