JOURNALISM 112 NOTES

Journalism is the business or practice of producing

and disseminating information about contemporary

affairs of general public interest and importance.

Journalism is the business of a set of institutions

that publicizes periodically (usually daily)

information and commentary on contemporary

affairs, normally presented as

true and sincere, publicly include the audience in a

discourse taken to be publicly important.

The core purpose of journalism is and should be about

producing and distributing serious information and debate

on central social, political, and cultural matters.

Journalists regulate much of what the public gets to

know about the world the inhabit, and this activity is vital to

a functioning democracy.

DEMOCRATIC EXPECTATIONS OF JOURNALISM

Journalism is presumably animated by certain

democratic expectations.

Some of these concern the relationship of

journalism to government- e.g. the proposition that,

acting on behalf of the citizenry, the press should

guard against abuses of power by office holders.

Others concern the relationship of journalism to

diverse opinion sources-e.g. the proposition that

the press should provide a robust, uninhibited,

and wide-open marketplace of ideas, in which

opposing views may meet, contend, and take each

other’s measure.

Others concern the relationship of journalism to

the public at large-e.g. the propositions that the

press should serve the public’s right to know and

offer options for meaningful political choices and

nourishment for effective participation in civic

affairs.

WHAT IS NEWS?

Many attempts have been made to define news. Here

are some of them

News is the unusual: “When a dog bites a man, that is

not news; but when a man bites a dog, that is news”.

News is anything that interest us: “News is something

you didn’t know before, had forgotten or didn’t

understand”.

News is the latest information: “News is the earliest

intelligence of events with a bearing upon the lives

of the mortals”.

News is a valuable record of events: “News is the first

draft of history”.News is a form of creative writing: “Journalism is

literature under pressure”.

News is about people, especially famous people:

“Names make news”News is an objective picture of the world: “Facts are

sacred; comment is free”News is what people try to keep hidden: “News hurts.

The rest is advertising”

NEWS VALUES AND NEWS PRODUCTION

News values, sometimes called “news criteria,” are

commonly held to be active at several stages in the

gate-keeping process. News values are used in two

ways:

(1) They are criteria of selection from material available

to the newsroom of those items worthy of inclusion in

the final product.

(2) They are guideline for the presentation of

items, suggesting what to emphasize, what to

omit, and where to give priority in the preparation

of the items for presentation to the audience.

NEWS VALUES

1.Guideline for presentation of news

2.Criteria for news selection

WHAT MAKES NEWS?

1. FREQUENCY—Events that unfold conveniently within the

production cycle of a news outlet are more likely to be reported.

2. THRESHOLD—The larger the event, the more people it

affects, the more likely it is to been reported.

Events can meet the threshold criterion either by being large

in absolute terms, or by marking an increase in the intensity of

an ongoing issue.

3. UNAMBIGUITY—The fewer ways there are of interpreting an

event, the more likely it is to be reported.

4.MEANINGFULNESS—The more culturally proximate and/or

relevant an event is, the more likely it is to be reported.

5. CONSONANCE—If a journalist has a mental pre-image of an

event, if it’s expected to happen, then it is more likely to be

reported. This is even more true if the event is something the

journalist desires to happen.

6. UNEXPECTEDNESS—If an event is unexpected, it is more

likely to be considered newsworthy and to be reported.

7. CONTINUITY—Once an issue has made the news once, future

events related to it are more likely to be reported.

8. COMPOSITIONAL BALANCE—News editors will attempt to

present their audience with a “balanced diet” of news. An event

that contributes to the diversity of topics reported is more likely

to be covered than one that adds to a pile of similar news items.

9. ELITE NATIONS—Events that involve elite nations

are more likely to be reported than those that do not.

10. ELITE PEOPLE—Events that involve elite people

are more likely to be reported than those that do not.

11. PERSONIFICATION—Events that can be discussed

in terms of the actions of individual actors are more

likely to be reported than those that are the outcome

of abstract social forces. By the same token, social forces

are more likely to be discussed in the news if they can be

illustrated by way of reference to individuals.

12. NEGATIVITY—An event with a negative outcome is

more likely to be reported than one with a positive

outcome.

TYPES OF NEWS: HARD NEWS AND SOFT NEWS.

News stories are basically divided into two types:

Hard news generally refers to up-to-the-minute

news and events that are reported immediately, e.g.

Politics, war, economics and crime

Soft news is background information or human-

interest stories e.g. arts, entertainment and lifestyles.

News Features- this is a term for news that is not

necessarily time-sensitive.

•A good feature might be about the people in your

community and their struggles, victories and defeats,

•A feature usually focuses on a certain angle, explores

it through background research and interviews with

the people involved, and then draws conclusions from

that information.

WHERE THE NEWS COMES FROM

Journalists find news in all sorts of places, but most stories

originate in one of three basic ways:

NATURALLY OCCURRING EVENTS, like disasters and

accidents;

PLANNED ACTIVITIES, like meetings and news conferences;

REPORTERS’ ENTERPRISE

UNPLANNED EVENTS frequently become major news stories

e.g ship sinking, plane crash, tsunami, or mudslide.

THE JOURNALIST’S ROLE

Journalism is more than just the distribution of

fact-based information.

Unlike a propagandist, the journalist sorts

through the information available and determines

how much of it is valuable and reliable before

passing it on to the public.

Propaganda may be based on facts, but those

facts are presented in such a way as to influence

people’s opinions.

Public Relations Professionals use facts, but

may tell only one side of a story. Journalists, on

the other hand, strive to be fair and complete.

PR professionals writing about their organizations are

unlikely to include information that might make the

organization look bad.On the other hand, a journalist will attempt to provide a

complete picture, even if it is not entirely positive.Another distinction between journalism and other

forms of information is that journalists strive for

independence from the people they cover.

THE CONCEPTS OF OBJECTIVITY AND FAIRNESS

1.The ideal of objectivity holds that facts can be separated

from values or opinions and that journalists act as neutral

transmitters who pass along events to an audience.

2.Journalistic ideal of objectivity stresses factual

(especially investigative) reporting over commentary, the

balancing of opposing viewpoints, and maintaining a

neutral observer role for the journalist.

3. The journalistic ideal of objectivity prescribe that reporters

should stand above the political battle, serve the public

rather than politicians with partisan axes to grind, and do so

with due regard for all the interest at stake in the issue.

The journalist has an obligation to meet high professional

standards of informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity

and balance in news reporting.

THE ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM

Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.Its first loyalty is to citizens.Its essence is a discipline of verification.Its practitioners must maintain an independence

from those they cover.Journalism must serve as an independent monitor of

power

It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience

METHODS OF NEWS GATHERING

The  four  most  commonly  used  methods  in news gathering used by journalists are:Observation Telephone conversations Research and Interviews.

1. OBSERVATION

Observation consists of your actually seeing of an event

taking place and then reporting what you have seen in the

form of a news story.

The difference between a good story and a poor one is often

in the skill of the observer.

Skilled observers use their eyes, ears, mind, notebooks and

tape recorders.

They make sure they get the concrete facts,

specific figures and accurate information. They look for the colorful, the dramatic or the

unusual in any situation.

2. TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS

The telephone plays an important role in your

daily work as a journalist.

It saves time, legwork and

it enables you to reach people who are ordinarily

too busy to see you in person.

Telephone conversations may range from full-

scale interview to brief queries to verify or amplify

information.

But regardless of how often you use this method

of news gathering, you should keep the

following points in mind:

Know what information you want

keep your pencil and paper handy.

Speak politely indistinct, well-modulated tones.

Be cheerful and businesslike.

Make sure you get your facts straight.

Ask the other person to repeat figures or spell out

names.

Avoid three-way conversations among yourself,

the person on the telephone and somebody else in

your office.

Recheck your information by reading it back to the

person who has given it to you.

Record   the   conversation   using   a

  “telephone pick-up”Be sure to inform the person on the other

end that you are recording the conversation

 for  note-taking  purposes  only. Do not discuss classified information.

3. RESEARCH

Research is nothing more than digging out

information from files and reference works.

Research is used to verify or amplify facts in

news stories and to give depth to features stories

and magazines articles.

4. INTERVIEWS

About 90 percent of everything in a news story is based

on some form of interviewing.Journalist in search of information must learn how to get

along with people and How to treat people with tact and understanding while

still accomplishing his/her purpose.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS

NEWS INTERVIEW

The news interview is based on “hard news,” some

event or development of current and immediate interest.TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

The power of persuasion is often necessary to elicit

information from a reluctant person

CASUAL INTERVIEW

An accidental encounter between a journalist and a

news source on the street or at a social gathering can

often result in a tip that arouses the curiosity of a writer.PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

In the personality interview an effort is made to let the

reader see the appearance, mannerisms, background

and even the character of the subject.

SYMPOSIUM INTERVIEW

News developments of current interest require a journalist or a team

of journalists to seek information not from one or two sources but from

a dozen.

NEWS CONFERENCE: The person interviewed at a news conference

may be:

President, Managers, Movie Star or

Any other person promoting what is believed to be a news story

of interest to the public.

PREPARED QUESTION INTERVIEW

When direct person-to-person questioning cannot

be arranged with an important source, journalists

occasionally resort to giving that source a set of

prepared questions to which a reply is requested.

GROUND RULES

1. ON THE RECORD

Journalists are free to use all material from the

interview, including information and quotations,

and to identify the source.

2. NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION

Journalists are free to use information and

quotations, but they agree not to identify the

source. "Not for attribution" is an acceptable

method of gathering information.

3. OFF THE RECORD

Journalist agrees not to use information from

the source or journalist may agree not to use

the information unless he/she checks with the

source before publication.

4. DEEP BACKGROUND

The information can be used in or to inform a story

and it can lead a journalist to other sources for

confirmation. Nonetheless, the source providing information on

Deep Background may not be identified in any way,

nor can the reporter say how the information was

obtained.

BASIC NEWS WRITING

Journalists don’t want their stories told from the

beginning of a news event.

–They focus on the end result, and then may go back to

the beginning.

–They like giving away the ending.

–They are more interested in the outcome.

News writing is about the only form of writing in

which you start with the climax. This story form is widely known as the inverted

pyramid.

The inverted pyramid has a “news summary lead” that is

followed by series of paragraphs arranged in descending

order of importance.

This movement from greater to lesser information can be

demonstrated in a geometric shape – the pyramid.

After the news summary lead, the subsequent

information and quotes provide background and

explanation, present facts and color, explore other issues,

clarify conflict, speculate on cause and effect.

STORY ORGANIZATION

1. The lead.

2. Material that explains and amplifies the lead.

3. Necessary background material

4. Secondary or less important material.

5. Descending pyramids. Narrative.

6. Transitions

7. Quotes

8. Ending.

HOW TO WRITE A NEWS LEAD

1. Condense story into one or two words. Put those words as

close to the beginning of the first sentence as possible without

destroying the flow of the lead sentence.

2. Keep leads short — 20 to 30 words for the first sentence or

fewer.

3. The news lead should tell the reader what the story is about and

be interesting enough to draw the reader into the rest of the story.

4. Find the action in the story. Put the action in the lead.

5. Always double-check names and numbers.

Check spelling, style and grammar. Put everything

in order.

6. Attribute opinions. Stick with the facts.

7. Details, description. Report first, then write.

Learn all, tell 10 percent.

8. Decide which of the news values best applies to the

lead of the story. Write a lead that emphasizes that

news value.

9. Write in the active voice.

10. Don’t lead with a name, time or place unless that is

the most interesting/important thing in the story.

THE LEAD

The lead is the first word, sentence or paragraph of the

story. Sometimes it can be two or three paragraphs.

The Leads answer the 5 Ws and the H (who-what-when-

where –why and how) elements of the story.

The rest of the story should support and elaborate on

the lead and also provide the information that didn’t make

the cut up top.

THE RULES FOR A GOOD LEAD

KEEP IT SHORT. News writing is always tight, but

the lead calls for special care.

GET TO THE POINT. What is the story about?

FOCUS ON THE ACTION. Use the "active voice.“

HOOK THE READER. Put the most important, the

most interesting, the most exciting thing in the lead.

ELEMENTS OF GOOD WRITING

1. PRECISION. Use the right word. Say exactly what you

mean. Be specific. Avoid sexism in your writing. Use

generic terms: firefighters

2. CLARITY. Use simple sentences. Noun, verb.

3. PACING. Movement of sentences create a tone, mood

for the story.

4. TRANSITIONS. Progress logically from point to

point. Put everything in order.

5. SENSORY APPEAL. Appeal to one or more of our

five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

6. USING ANALOGIES. Describe it as being “like” or

“as” something that is familiar to readers.

Attribution•The practice of identifying all sources in a

story

•A phrase that tells readers the source of the

a quote or information used in the story•It identifies the source of the information

reported, particularly in any controversial

statements or questionable information.

Attribution can be explicit or implied. Example of explicit or direct attribution: “The man was arrested and charged with murder, police sergeant Antonio Costa said.” Example of implied or indirect “Police arrested the man and charged him with murder.” Police Sergeant Antonio Costa said

Quotes and Sound BitesQuotes provide a personal connection to the story.Quotation must be attributed so the audience knows who said it. Direct quotes are at least one sentence long and are in the exact words of the speaker.

E.g. "We will build nothing lasting without fighting discrimination, which is a poison for society.” Zuma saidPartial quotes, primarily used in print, can be just a word or a phrase the speaker said. E.g “Jacob Zuma… launched an appeal to combat the ‘poison’ of racial discrimination.”

EndingsEndings often echo beginnings, in that they return to an important place or a person. In a chronological narrative, the ending is what happens last.Endings frequently look toward the future.Occasionally a story may end with a strong quote or a sound bite.

WRITING AND EDITINGNews Managers, the Editors, and Producers decide what to run, what to drop, and what to hold They choose and change the stories of the day based on importance, interest, new developments, and the time or space available.

The editor’s job is to ensure that the stories presented to the public are well written and presented, as well as accurate, complete, and fair.

NEWSPAPER JOBSNewspaper editors assign the stories, they edit the written text or “copy,” and they supervise the design and layout of pages. In addition, newspapers may have a photo editor who oversees a staff of photographers, as well as a graphics editor who supervises the work of artists creating maps, charts, and other informational graphics.

BROADCAST JOBS

•Broadcast newsrooms are not organized like newspapers. •Most broadcast reporters do not specialize in covering a particular type of story, but may instead be assigned to specific news broadcasts like the early morning news or the late night news.

Each of these broadcasts is put together by a producer, who decides what stories will air, at what length, and in what order.Broadcast newsrooms have presenters or “anchors” who appear on the air and introduce the stories the reporters have covered that day.

Radio and television anchors usually appear on more than one newscast per day.

THE EDITOR’S ROLEEditors need good news judgment because; they serve as assignment managers, responsible for deciding what stories will be covered and by whom They must be good writers in order to help to shape the story as it is developing,

discussing it with reporters in the field and deciding where to deploy more people to cover additional angles. Editors are directly involved in decisions about story presentation, writing or choosing headlines, captions, photos, and illustrations.

Newspaper editors check copy, choose illustrations — either graphics or photos — and decide how the story will be laid out on the page as well as the headline. In most broadcast newsrooms, reporters do not record their scripts or assemble their stories until a producer has approved the content.

Producers also decide the order of stories in the newscast and the amount of time to be allocated to each story.

COPY EDITINGGood writing, by definition, requires rewriting. An accuracy check is the first level of copy-editing. Editors look for grammatical and usage errors, as well as for spelling mistakes.Editors make sure that all numbers in a story are correct: addresses, telephone numbers, ages, date, and time references.

They confirm that the reporter has used proper titles for everyone who is quoted, and they review the use of attribution throughout the story.

HEADLINES, CAPTIONS, AND TEASES

In newspapers and online newsrooms, editors write headlines for stories and captions for photos. A headline is both a summary and an advertisement.A caption is more of a label, telling readers what the photograph or graphic shows.

In broadcast newsrooms, producers may write headlines and also what are called teases.Teases, are short descriptions of stories designed to make listeners or viewers want to stay tuned to get the full report.

LEAD WRITING EXERCISES

At least 15 dead, 175 injured in worst accident in Amtrak’s 132-year history following three Conrail locomotives’ collision in Baltimore, Maryland yesterday.Or At least 15 dead in worst accident in Amtrak’s 132-year history following three Conrail locomotives’ collision, leaving 175 injured in Baltimore, Maryland yesterday.

A nuclear weapon with a yield equivalent

to 150,000 tons of TNT detonated 40

miles from a meeting of pacifists and

2,000 feet beneath the surface of Pahute

Mesa in the Nevada desert on Tuesday.

A 27-year old, Ellen Lynn Conner, was arrested and charged with Oregon charges of kidnapping and interference with a custody warrant following the three years missing of the 7-years old boy in Brick Township, NJThe arrest followed the neighbor’s recognition of the child’s picture when it was shown after the movie Adam on Monday.

Fourty passengers were evacuated from a Northwest Airlines jet, Flight 428 at the LaCrosse, Wis. Municipal Airport after a landing tower employee spotted smoke near the wheels following a flight from Minneapolis to LaCrosse on Monday.

The smoke was due to the hydraulic fluids leaking onto hot landing brakes and no fire or injuries were reported

HEADLINESThree Conrail locomotives collision claimed 15 lives Nuclear testing weapon detonated in Nevada desertMother faces Oregon chargesFourty passengers evacuated from Northwest Airlines jet

HARD AND SOFT LEAD

Former rebel leader Joshua Smith was elected prime minister tonight/yesterday, winning more than 80 percent of the vote in the country’s first democratic election since 1993.

SOFT LEADGrowing up in Youngtown, Joshua Smith was a little boy with big dreams. Always small for his age, he says the bigger boys at school bullied him. When he told his grammar school teacher he’d be prime minister some day, she laughed.

•No one is laughing now. Smith won yesterday’s election with more than 80 percent of the vote, becoming the country’s first democratically elected leader since 1993.