"Depending on the form of journalism, 'journalist' may also describe various categories of people by the roles they play in the process. These include reporters, correspondents, citizen journalists, editors, editorial writers, columnists, and photojournalists."
Can you clarify what time period that was?
> This is not a journalist. This is someone that writes their opinion on a column.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalist
"Depending on the form of journalism, 'journalist' may also describe various categories of people by the roles they play in the process. These include reporters, correspondents, citizen journalists, editors, editorial writers, columnists, and photojournalists."
You're thinking of a reporter.