"some states do not require licensure to be a biologist in a lab."

No states require 'biologists' to be licensed. Lab personnel are not usually biologists, but lab technicians can have any of a number of degrees, or none at all. Whatever requirements states may put on labratory personnel depends on what the laboratories are doing. If they're doing population dynamics research no state requires any certification whatsoever. If they're doing chemical assays on weed, or environmental toxins, or something like that, then they're certified as to laboratory procedures and technical requirements of the specific laws the state involved is using them to enforce.

That has not a thing to do with biology. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Clinical Laboratory Science is a subset of Criminal Justice, not basic scientific research.

Finally, you must have realized by now in digging this up that your thesis that you need to have a degree to be considered a journalist is utterly BS, and complete hokum. That is established by Merriam Webster's definition of a journalist as someone that commits journalism. Presstitutes get journalism degrees so they can commit the disinformation crimes propaganda producers pay for. It's part of the propaganda that normies are supposed to believe that people with degrees are expert professionals and you should believe them.

They're not. You are painting yourself in their colors by supporting that scam.