I wish would stop using "journalist" and "reporter" interchangeably.
Reporters are people who actually get out into the world, collect facts, collect opinions from real people (some of them experts at something, some of them not), try to actually see "newsworthy events" in person.
Journalists write essays based on the work reporters do.
I'm not saying I want less journalists, but I do want more reporters.
Disagree, it’d be more accurate to say reporters are a subset of journalists. Reporters are journalists, journalists is just more general.
You might be thinking of ‘columnists’?
The profession is journalism. Reporting is a form of journalism. Non-reporter journalists are not just pundits who pontificate. Analysis (based on someone else's reporting) is a form of journalism. Editing and sub-editing are forms of journalism.