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 Home > By Career > Media, Films, Mass Communications > Journalism
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Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and
trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations
of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering
organizations and institutions such as government and business, journalism also
covers cultural aspects of society such as arts and entertainment. The field includes
editing, photojournalism, and documentary.
Johann Carolus's Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, published
in 1605 in Strassburg, is often recognized as the first newspaper. The first successful
English daily, the Daily Courant, was published from 1702 to 1735.
In modern society, news media have become the chief purveyor of information and
opinion about public affairs; but the role and status of journalism, along with
other forms of mass media, are undergoing changes resulting from the Internet.
History
The first newspapers were distributed in 17th century England, twice-weekly. Another
successful English newspaper which came in later was The Daily Courant.
The first newspaper in the American colonies – Benjamin Harris's Publick Occurrences
both Foreighn and Domestick – was published in 1690 but was immediately shut down
for not having a required license. Most American newspapers of the time period were
against the British government, resulting in Britain cracking down on the press.
There were several hundred newspapers in the U.S. by 1800. In 1833, Benjamin Day
opened The Sun (New York) and created the "Penny Press." Day's papers, filled with
sensational content and aimed at a working class audience, sold large amounts. During
the Civil War, photography, allowing more accurate illustrations, and telegraphy,
greatly increasing speed, were developed. In 1846, The Associated Press wire service
was formed as a cooperative venture between several large newspapers to share news
that arrived by telegraph from Europe. AP is now one of the world's oldest news
agencies. In 1851, George Jones (publisher) and Henry Raymond opened The New York
Daily Times, later renamed The New York Times. In the 1890s, Joseph Pulitzer, owning
newspapers in New York and elsewhere, coined the term "yellow journalism"; coming
from the name of comic strip – "The Yellow Kid" – published by Pulitzer.
Format
Newspapers and periodicals often contain features (see Feature style) often composed
by journalists who specialize in this form.
Feature articles are usually longer forms of writing; more attention is paid to
style than in straight news reports. They are often combined with photographs, drawings
or other "art." They may also be highlighted by typographic effects or colors.
Writing features can be more demanding than writing straight news stories, because
while a journalist must apply the same amount of effort to accurately gather and
report the facts of the story, the journalist should also write it to be creative
and interesting. The lead (or first few paragraphs of the story; see Nut graph)
must grab the reader's attention and still accurately embody the ideas of the article.
In the last half of the 20th century, the line blurred between straight news reporting
and feature writing. Journalists and publications today experiment with different
approaches to writing. Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson are some of these
examples. Urban and alternative newsweeklies go even further in blurring the distinction,
and many magazines include more features than straight news.
Some television news shows experimented with alternative formats, and many TV shows
that claimed to be news shows were not considered as such by traditional critics,
because their content and methods do not adhere to accepted journalistic standards.
National Public Radio, on the other hand, is considered a good example of mixing
straight news reporting, features, and combinations of the two, usually meeting
standards of high quality. Other U.S. public radio news organizations have achieved
similar results.
Role of journalism
In the 1920s, as modern journalism was just taking form, writer Walter Lippmann
and American philosopher John Dewey debated over the role of journalism in a democracy.
Their differing philosophies still characterize a debate about the role of journalism
in society and the nation-state.
Lippmann understood that journalism's role at the time was to act as a mediator
or translator between the public and policy making elites. The journalist became
the middleman. When elites spoke, journalists listened and recorded the information,
distilled it, and passed it on to the public for their consumption. His reasoning
behind this was that the public was not in a position to deconstruct the growing
and complex flurry of information present in modern society, and so an intermediary
was needed to filter news for the masses. Lippman put it this way: The public is
not smart enough to understand complicated, political issues. Furthermore, the public
was too consumed with their daily lives to care about complex public policy. Therefore
the public needed someone to interpret the decisions or concerns of the elite to
make the information plain and simple. That was the role of journalists. Lippmann
believed that the public would affect the decision-making of the elite with their
vote. In the meantime, the elite (i.e. politicians, policy makers, bureaucrats,
scientists, etc.) would keep the business of power running. In Lippman's world,
the journalist's role was to inform the public of what the elites were doing. It
was also to act as a watchdog over the elites, as the public had the final say with
their votes. Effectively that kept the public at the bottom of the power chain,
catching the flow of information that is handed down from experts/elites.
Lippmann's elitism has had consequences that he came to deplore. An apostle of historicism
and scientism, Lippmann did not merely hold that democratic government was a problematic
exercise, but regarded all political communities, of whatever stripe, as needing
guidance from a transcendent partisanship for accurate information and dispassionate
judgment. In "Liberty and the News" (1919) and "Public Opinion" (1921) Lippmann
expressed the hope that liberty could be redefined to take account of the scientific
and historical perspective and that public opinion could be managed by a system
of intelligence in and out of government. Thus the liberty of the journalist was
to be dedicated to gathering verifiable facts while commentators like himself would
place the news in the broader perspective. Lippmann deplored the influence of powerful
newspaper publishers and preferred the judgments of the "patient and fearless men
of science." In so doing, he did not merely denigrate the opinion of the majority
but also of those who had influence or power as well. In a republican form of government,
the representatives are chosen by the people and share with them adherence to the
fundamental principles and political institutions of the polity. Lippmann's quarrel
was with those very principles and institutions, for they are the product of the
pre-scientific and pre-historical viewpoint and what for him was a groundless natural
rights political philosophy.
But Lippmann turned against what he called the "collectivism" of the Progressive
movement he encouraged with its de-emphasis on the foundations of American politics
and government and ultimately wrote a work, "The Public Philosophy" (1955), which
came very close to a return to the principles of the American founders.
Dewey, on the other hand, believed the public was not only capable of understanding
the issues created or responded to by the elite, it was in the public forum that
decisions should be made after discussion and debate. When issues were thoroughly
vetted, then the best ideas would bubble to the surface. Dewey believed journalists
should do more than simply pass on information. He believed they should weigh the
consequences of the policies being enacted. Over time, his idea has been implemented
in various degrees, and is more commonly known as "community journalism".
This concept of community journalism is at the centre of new developments in journalism.
In this new paradigm, journalists are able to engage citizens and the experts/elites
in the proposition and generation of content. It's important to note that while
there is an assumption of equality, Dewey still celebrates expertise. Dewey believes
the shared knowledge of many is far superior to a single individual's knowledge.
Experts and scholars are welcome in Dewey's framework, but there is not the hierarchical
structure present in Lippman's understanding of journalism and society. According
to Dewey, conversation, debate, and dialogue lie at the heart of a democracy.
While Lippman's journalistic philosophy might be more acceptable to government leaders,
Dewey's approach is a better description of how many journalists see their role
in society, and, in turn, how much of society expects journalists to function. Americans,
for example, may criticize some of the excesses committed by journalists, but they
tend to expect journalists to serve as watchdogs on government, businesses and actors,
enabling people to make informed decisions on the issues of the time.
The elements of journalism
According to The Elements of Journalism, a book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel,
there are nine elements of journalism. In order for a journalist to fulfill their
duty of providing the people with the information, they need to be free and self-governing.
They must follow these guidelines:
1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
2. Its first loyalty is to the citizens.
3. Its essence is discipline of verification.
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
7. It must strive to make the news significant, interesting, and relevant.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
In the April 2007 edition of the book,they added the last element, the rights and
responsibilities of citizens to make it a total of ten elements of journalism.
Professional and ethical standards
In the UK, all newspapers are bound by the Code of Practice of the Press Complaints
Commission. This includes points like respecting people's privacy and ensuring accuracy.
However, the Media Standards Trust has criticised the PCC, claiming it needs to
be radically changed to secure public trust of newspapers.
This is in stark contrast to the media climate prior to the 20th Century, where
the media market was dominated by smaller newspapers and pamphleteers who usually
had an overt and often radical agenda, with no presumption of balance or objectivity.
Failing to uphold standards
Such a code of conduct can, in the real world, be difficult to uphold consistently.
Journalists who believe they are being fair or objective may give biased accounts—by
reporting selectively, trusting too much to anecdote, or giving a partial explanation
of actions. (See Media bias.) Even in routine reporting, bias can creep into a story
through a reporter's choice of facts to summarize, or through failure to check enough
sources, hear and report dissenting voices, or seek fresh perspectives.
A news organization's budget inevitably reflects decision-making about what news
to cover, for what audience, and in what depth. Those decisions may reflect conscious
or unconscious bias. When budgets are cut, editors may sacrifice reporters in distant
news bureaus, reduce the number of staff assigned to low-income areas, or wipe entire
communities from the publication's zone of interest.
Publishers, owners and other corporate executives, especially advertising sales
executives, can try to use their powers over journalists to influence how news is
reported and published. Journalists usually rely on top management to create and
maintain a "firewall" between the news and other departments in a news organization
to prevent undue influence on the news department. One journalism magazine, Columbia
Journalism Review, has made it a practice to reveal examples of executives who try
to influence news coverage, of executives who do not abuse their powers over journalists,
and of journalists who resist such pressures.
Self-censorship is a growing problem in journalism, particularly in covering countries
that sharply restrict press freedom. As commercial pressure in the media marketplace
grows, media organizations are loath to lose access to high-profile countries by
producing unflattering stories. For example, CNN admitted that it had practiced
self-censorship in covering the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in order to ensure
continued access after the regime had thrown out other media. CNN correspondent
Christiane Amanpour also complained of self-censorship during the invasion of Iraq
due to the fear of alienating key audiences in the US.
Legal status
Governments have widely varying policies and practices towards journalists, which
control what they can research and write, and what press organizations can publish.
Some governments guarantee the freedom of the press; while other nations severely
restrict what journalists can research and/or publish.
Journalists in many nations have some privileges that members of the general public
do not; including better access to public events, crime scenes and press conferences,
and to extended interviews with public officials, celebrities and others in the
public eye.
Journalists who elect to cover conflicts, whether wars between nations or insurgencies
within nations, often give up any expectation of protection by government, if not
giving up their rights to protection by government. Journalists who are captured
or detained during a conflict are expected to be treated as civilians and to be
released to their national government.
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