Student Zone

Brandon Kruse
News Reporting and Writing
Feb 14, 2006

The elements of journalism stand as lessons learned for journalists. The ideals prescribed by Kovach & Rosenstiel have stood the test of time as fundamental and it is within these fundamentals that they define the proper course of journalism within a modern setting. The modern setting too is important because it brings about new problems and tests that examine and, hopefully, prove the soundness of journalism’s fundamental principals.
The elements of the first six chapters are key to a journalist’s personal integrity. In the scope of news media, journalism, because of its strong adherence to truth becomes, for Kovach & Rosenstiel, an entity unto itself. Truth, directed by individual journalists, but historically relevant within a life unto itself. This comes about because of a number of things including the people’s long standing trust in the idea that news is true and essentially unbiased, that it has their interest in mind, and that its place is to inform rather than direct the public. The principles discussed are tangential, they overlap on many issues and support each other in order to uphold their common ideal: the core truth. The elements should be stated then.

1. Journalism’s first obligation is tot the truth.
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens.
3. Its essence is a 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 significant interesting and relevant.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

The elements can be grouped into three categories. The first three elements pertain to the individual journalist and the way in which truth is investigated. The next three relate to the power that news and the truth necessarily wield. And the last three elements address the way the reader is engaged and allowed to respond to what they are reading.
The first chapter concerns the most basic element of journalism: truth. By delving into journalism’s past the authors show that this trait is unchanging. “The basic standards [of] newsworthiness seem to have changed very little… throughout history,” writes historian Mitchell Stephens. The authors show both why this most necessary of elements cannot be disregarded and the reaction to journalism when it has been altered. Neither oppressive nation states nor sensationalist bargaining can change the basically immutable trigger that truth has to inform and educate. When truth is removed from journalism, as in the case of Polish oppression and other instances of propaganda within journalism, the public, at best outcome, detach from the source of biased information.
“The theory of the interlocking public” is put forth by the authors as a relevant topic for biased and truthful news alike. The authors use three distinctions ’for the sake of argument’ but there are many cogs within the interlocking wheel to be imagined; “It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.” Element seven is really outlined by the authors as it hinges on the public: “How people interact with the news to form a public.” Journalism has an obligation not only to society but also to sociology in its effect on the public’s notion of truth. The involved public in at least this instance is the journalists themselves, who always have “a personal stake in the issue” as far as the significance of the topic will allow; issues with great significance always adding to the base of the interested and uninterested publics, who’s mix “is usually much wiser than the involved public alone.” It is this check that balances many of the elements, I think. By its first two primary obligations truth and the reader, a check is placed on the journalist to appeal to the most common truths; negating details and summarizing with as much common knowledge as possible yet with the layman in mind.
The second tier of principles address the position of the journalist directly. The integrity of a journalist reflects the worthiness of journalism against the people they report on and the powers they describe. Journalists by these three principles, conscientiously object to anything but autonomy, both personally and professionally. This is the price of claiming to convey truth and journalists may suffer personal loss if not conscience because of its importance. Journalism earns trust in each story and the writer earns trust in each reader. The “journalism of verification” ensures that reporters show that negligence and haphazard truth do not seep into their publications. Objective journalism ensures that bias and haphazard prejudice are caused by negligence and not corruption. The integrity of truth in this case can underwrite the negligent fact. Simple errors are forgiven and the humility of the reporter is key to maintaining the integrity of the core truth.
The final set of journalistic principles involve the responsibility of the journalist toward this integrity. The final element, “[Jornalism’s] practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.” With this in place the objectivity and subjectivity of journalism come to a head. The place of the first eight elements are key to journalism’s intent: that the news be arbitrary and relevant, objective and engaging, informative and general. The subjective nature of the final elements also hinges on the responsibility of journalism to its most basic principles. Original or interpretive, the truth must shine equally on both ends of the tunnel and journalists cannot be persuaded to shade the lamp; despite personal, political, or financial advantages.
The elements of journalism convey a message to journalists that preserve the most idealistic of fundamental truths. The importance of objectivity and fact, as opposed to bias and fiction, is the most defining characteristic of journalism to other forms of media. In the modern age the principles that define truth come under siege. By redefining the core values of truth the reevaluation and the place of journalism is changed as well; truth itself remains unchanged as the core of the public opinion intended by journalists.

Mike Cruz, Jr.
January 26, 2006
Elements Of Journalism; Summation of first half
Online piece #1

The first half of The Elements of Journalism gives six of the elements the authors believe are essential to the profession. The six are, (1) providing citizens with the information necessary to remain free and self-governing, (2) An obligation to the truth, (3) Loyalty to citizens, (4) The discipline of verification, (5) Maintaining an independence from those they cover and (6) Journalist must serve as an independent monitor of power. A vast portion of the first half of the book concentrates on not only the elements, but also on some of the issues facing today’s journalist. Such as, the monopolization of the newsroom and the problem this poses to not only the journalist but also the citizen the journalist is attempting to gauge the interest of. In essence, the authors provide a look into how business has bled into the newsroom. The book also attempts to bring to light the growing concerns among journalist by citing findings of a study. “Elements” also brings into the discussion the effect the “Information Super Highway” has posed to journalism. Citing that in an age where anyone can post an opinion guised as journalism, and with great ease and speed, it is becoming harder for newsgroups to compete. Also cited as an issue in the book is the twenty-four hour news cycle. The authors perceive this as a problem because now we see less reporting of the news and more reporting and commentating.
I have found this book to be a very important tool as far as giving an insight to not only the problems of journalism but also some of its bright spots. The one bright spot I saw was in the sixth chapter, even though I thought the authors downplayed the validity of it. The issue was that of independent newsgroups. I see this as a good thing. I believe that if these news groups found a way to infiltrate the newest generation with the fact of their existence they could create a base for funding not only now, but also in the future. Instead of picking up a Red-eye, maybe we’ll be picking up the Uptown exchange. What I mean is, if independent area based newsgroups did this a reader base could be reached and not only would this serve a purpose but could be a positive way of reinventing the image of journalist. If there is no business to bleed into the newsroom and the focus is on reporting the news, I believe this type of organization would catch on.

The primary loyalty of journalists, as stated by the authors of The Elements of Journalism, lies in the citizens. The obligation to the citizens comes before everything else. While journalists must strictly report the news, their main goal is to present that same news to the citizens in order to present all the information possible, allowing the audience to interpret the facts for themselves. The changing attitudes from skepticism to cynicism (pg. 56) isolate and detach the journalist from the citizens; rather than maintain objectivity, the journalist has made the news subjective, causing it to appeal to a certain audience rather than the entire public. Business strategies to appeal to the more affluent has further isolated journalism from the public; targeting the news, be it television or print, to certain demographics made news information available only to a specific audience (in this case, the affluent and wealthy) rather than the larger public. As journalism has become largely about business and appeal, rather than straight reporting, the obligation to the citizens has become less important. Much like every other business, journalism's focus has shifted from its idealistic duties to report the truth to making more money than the other guy.

Overall, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenthal make many good points as to the state of journalism today. The decline of journalism is mostly to blame on the waining of values in present day journalists. Journalistic integrity is not what it once was; in what used to be a business of truth and responsibility to the public good, it has transformed in recent years into one of money. Journalism has become corporate, in the examples of ABC News and Time Inc. being bought by Disney and America Online, respectively. The authors are clearly disappointed at this change of values, often citing other prominent journalists and stating examples of this decline. While their cause is noble, I feel that the authors are overly idealistic and melodramatic at times. It is obvious that they are proud of their profession and seek to improve attitudes of journalists and citizens alike, but there are moments in which their idealism seems overexaggerated. Even so, I have come to agree with much of what they have said. Honest news is public knowledge, as well as the right of a society's citizens; to put a spin on, or inappropriately sway the audience with mild interpretation is a misuse of journalistic power. As they often stated, "the purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to be free and self-governing" (pg 12), otherwise, "we are facing the possibility that independent news will be replaced by self-interested commercialism posing as news" (pg. 13).

In The Elements of Journalism, the authors present journalism as a tool for society to use in order to obtain facts and accurate information on events occurring in the present. However, the authors do not go into great detail on what journalism actually is. Rather, they discuss how it is used in society and how quality journalism is assembled.
In the book, the author explains that journalism’s first loyalty should lie within the people it writes for. The audience is something the journalist should always have in mind as they prepare and formulate their stories. However, as the author stresses, the truth should always be evident in any work of journalism. Although journalism gives writers a considerable level of flexibility, they aren’t allowed to write whatever pleases them. They must approach their work professionally, and this often means checking the facts in a story multiple times and validating resources in order to avoid falling into bad order with their employers. Since the first duty of a journalist is to the citizens she represents, it is important that all stories written are for the audience, and are factual as well.
In the book, the authors also bring up the idea that journalism must be independent of all factors of the journalist’s life. Certain biases or emotions the journalist feels about something can never undermine the story she writes. The book goes further on to explain how journalism helps stabilize power in our government by making most of its affairs available to the public.

The aspect of journalism that I believe is most controversial is how truth plays into a journalistic piece of work. By disregarding the truth, the author of the article forfeits all his credibility for any other stories he may chose to write, unless of course he isn’t caught or any alterations of the truth were involuntary. Jeopardizing the truth may lead to the firing of the journalist, or it may result in significant financial losses. Often times, the publisher under the newspaper or magazine the journalist works for feels the public stares for a time. Image the confusion created when you read over a story saying the sky is blue, then you pick up another publication, and they say the sky is black. A third publication might say the sky is purple. As a reader, which one should I believe? Any journalist who undervalues the truth is no journalist at all.

Kristen Krolicki
2-6-05
Elements 3-6
Online assignment # 1

In chapters 3-6 in Elements of Journalism, by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, we learned that journalism's first loyalty is to the citizens. When a journalist can stay true to one's responsibilities, this allows the business of journalism to grow because without loyal citizens, a company can lose credibility and possibly fail. A journalist must maintain the truth throughout every story, which is completely accurate in every detail. According to Robert Dechard, the chairman and chief executive of A.H. Belo, he states, “It comes down to selecting people who have good news judgment and experience in journalism and are sensitive to potential conflicts. I would prefer to have a person with that sound judgment.” Good news judgment is equivalent to covering the people's interest. By doing this, the reporter will capture the people's attention and hold onto their interest.
In the field of journalism there is more to the business than reporting accurate events. Aside from truthful reporters, a successful newsroom would fail without a publisher, editors and citizens. Each position is incredibly important in maintaining a functioning newspaper. Without fear or favor, the publishers must air the work of journalism for the public to view. An editor is responsible for making sure the story covered isn't misleading, untrue and worthy of printing. Attentive and assertive citizens and their broad questions and demanding answers keep the company in check.
Since its apparent of how valuable the citizen is, a good journalist should know to steer clear of the outrage opinions propaganda exploits and remain loyal to creating truthful stories. The business will then grow smoothly and the viewers and readers will continue to honor the company and help build their credibility.
Within these chapters, I have come to realize the significant importance of the citizen, the truth and credibility. I have also come across many quotes that I believe to be extremely relevant to the reading. I was most impressed by a one lined statement stated by Carol Marin. She said, “A journalist is someone who steps away from the table and tries to see it all.” That's what journalism is all about, listening and observing.
I found that a journalist tends to be someone who isn't going to settle for half of the information. How can you complete a story with only half the facts? Taking a step back allows the reporter to get prepared before taking the dive into the sea of questions. If a journalist were to dive into a particular situation first and not observe his or her surroundings, information could get missed amongst the chaos.
With taking time to step back and ask relevant questions that are right to the point of the story, journalists with good news judgments will avoid propaganda and will continue to make clear, precise and accurate stories. I believe that a factual story is crucial and the public deserves honesty. Respect to the citizens is crucial because if we stop and think about it, isn't they loyal reader (consumer) paying their salary?

Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenthal, in Elements of Journalism chapters 1-6, outline a journalistic code of ethics and attempt to explain the importance of honest, rigorous and transparent journalism as a service to democratic society. They make their case through an explanation of nine key principles supported with passionate arguments and relevant historical anecdotes. They are particularly concerned with what amounts to, in their view, a crisis of integrity and accountability in the field. Kovach and Rosenthal believe that journalism functions first and foremost for the public as a tool for self governance. Human’s, they say, have a basic desire for information, what they call “The Awareness Instinct.” It was from this fundamental human need that journalism was born and eventually evolved to become what it is today.
The authors stress the importance of the press as facilitators of public discourse. They believe that people in the news industry are obliged not only to inform the public but to act as watchdogs of those in positions of power and to let people know when they are getting the crap end of the stick. They highlight the various fits and starts of the growth of news reporting over the past 300 and raise several questions about what the industry has become and where it is headed. They believe that the current popular form of “journalism as assertion” seriously undermines the traditional “journalism of verification” causing a tremendous disservice to democracy. They warn that a tendency away from a rigorous journalistic method and toward a more “shoot from the hip” style of pseudo-news and faux-investigative reporting is a recipe for disaster. The unprecedented level of consolidation of media outlets and the conflicts of interest that arise as a result have alienated the public from the press and hence, from the process of understanding and participating in the decisions that shape their world, according to Kovach and Rosenthal.

A journalist’s relationship to power should be one of suspicion. This is not to be confused with suspicion’s retarded brother, paranoia; but in order for a journalist to serve the public, he must assume that those in power are trying to hide something. It is only with this assumption in mind that the newsreporter can help in the critical task of holding the wealthy and clout-rich accountable to those they look down upon. So, as Kovach and Rosenthal point out, investigative reporting should and must focus on the government and big business first and private citizens second. With the rise of the dime-a-dozen “I-Team,” the need for real investigation on big national issues has been obscured and all but lost. The journalist’s responsibility to the citizen is being sacrificed on the alter of personal gain and the interests of the wealthy. Without suspicion as his guide, a newsreporter becomes another fat, lazy American.
It makes me wonder what my 15-year-old little brother’s generation is going to expect of the news when they become old enough to vote, run for office and die for their country (does anyone hear the Battle Hymn of the Republic?).

Marcello Grigolo
1/25/06
The Elements Of Journalism: Summary/Response
Online Piece 1
Word count: 254

The essence of journalism, as it is defined by
the authors of "The Elements of Journalism",
is "a discipline of verification” (75). This
discipline, the authors argue, and the very
notions of a free and independent press are
being challenged, not by the government, but
from within, by the advent of the Internet and
24-hour cable news, as well as by media
consolidation. The authors of the book argue in
defense of the press and its primary
purpose, “to provide citizens with the
information they need to be free and self-
governing” (17).

Journalists are entrusted with an
obligation to the public they are privileged to
serve, to deliver truthful and accurate news,
and to keep watch over the government on their
behalf. This means journalism must go beyond
just getting the facts right, or simply relaying
quotes from our politicians and leaders. In many
respects, journalists themselves are to blame
for the institution’s sad decline; many have
become complacent, others, lazy; still others,
like Bob Woodward and Judith Miller have gotten
too close to their sources and have paid the
price, while tainting journalism further in the
process. Getting at the whole truth is often a
long, arduous, and expensive process. Few
journalists in America today seem to have the
will or the means to look behind the veil of
misinformation and propaganda. Instead, they
appear content to parrot back what they are told
without question. This may be one of the reasons
why mainstream news feels so unsatisfying and
lacking to so many.

Michael Premer
February 3, 2006
The Elements of Journalism Response
Online Piece #1
Words: 273

The pillars of the democratic community solely rest on the awareness and active part that its citizens contribute and take upon themselves. Journalists take the role as “informer” to their communities, struggling to gain an accurate construction of the best known truth to the world beyond their citizen’s eyes and first hand encounters.
The essence of journalism is a strict attention to verification. For every breath of news these journalists portray, they fight to keep an unbiased and uninfluenced version of contemporary events. The most crucial action to maintain our freedom of press independent from big business is that journalists and their stories should ideally remain far away from the business aspect of that publishing organization.
The journalists’ relationship to power constantly intertwines as journalists maintain influential power over their society as they are the eyes, ears and mouth of the world of everything which happens further than their citizens’ eyes. An enormous amount of reliance sets envelops journalists as their furnished work and interpretations instantly transform into the citizen’s foundation to base their beliefs.
These chapters of Elements place such high ideals on journalists’ profession and place in society that a much greater deal of respect and gratitude should be owed to them. These also remain ideals, as journalists of today’s industry seldom seem credible. An important way of looking at the news in today’s world is a “read between the lines” approach, when it should be trusted in a much higher content. Comparing and contrasting the high goals of Elements to numerous invalid or biased pieces of today, it is sad to admit that our contemporary versions of news fall short.

Review and Response (CH. 1-6)
By Carli Sovich
The Elements of Journalism provides a description of both the role of a journalist and the role that journalism plays in a society. Circling around the nine principals of journalism, this book explains in depth many of the problems with journalism through the centuries. Because of people’s natural want-to-know, or awareness instinct, journalism has grown into a huge industry to satisfy that need. Chapter two explains that journalism’s constant search for the truth is what makes it a unique form of communication. To be educated and self-governing the public must be able to trust the truth of what is deemed news. This truth includes both the straight facts as well as any relevant background to build an accurate picture of to world.
Once to importance of truth is established, the book continues to discuss and elaborate on the remaining eight principals of journalism. A journalist must always remember to write to the reader, to provide them with the real picture. Advertising and marketing have done some damage to this principal because some journalists are now faced with the problem of allegiance to their job verses allegiance to the people. When writing a story, a journalist must also test and retest their facts. By explaining how a journalist acquired the facts they present, they prove the truth behind them, insuring the public’s trust. Also, in obtaining that trust a journalist must remain independent from all other establishments. This prevents an establishment from buying a good reputation from the news. But the job of a journalist is not to ignore establishment, it is to vigilantly watch and question all power. Journalism is an industry which acts at the public’s eyes in an ever growing world.
As I stated in class, I found this book to be very wordy. None the less, I have gained a lot of knowledge about a subject I knew very little about. I have always found a problem in trusting the news and now I see why. There is much more to journalism than simply telling what happened. The Elements of Journalism given me many insights into the way journalism has grown to what it is today. In reading the first six chapters of this book I have begun to ask questions about many things I’ve seen in the news. I have become part of the interested public.