Student Zone

Viorel Florentin Domasneanu
Febuary 8, 2006
Elements of Journalism: Summary and commmentary of second half...

I really felt the second half of The Elements of Journalism had less to do with ethics and more to do with fundamental technical orthodoxism that should help you become a strong, successful journalist. The second half of the book really stressed that a good journalist finds topics that are proportional, indepth and relevant to his or her audience. It stated that journalism, despite facing unprecedented competition, can look forward to growing prominence. I felt that the author also made comparisons between what journalism was like generations ago, what it's like now and what it will likely be like in the future. It stated that for today's common journalist it's hard not to stray into the darkside and to be credible. Citizens have become weary, skeptical and even hostile towards and of journalists. According to the book, journalists should be open to constructive criticism and the collective personal opinions of the public. Also pointed out was that in today's society, as in the past, news and media creates debates and discussion. It was also stressed that the journalism medium is as versatile as any other if not more so. It can provide entertainment, information, coverage and education among many others. News, it states, should be targeted to a vast audience as opposed to a niche. Journalists should be independent from any other entity including its audience in order to gain credibility and accuracy in its profession. The authors remark, "a heavy buden rests on the ethics and judgement of the individual jounalist and the individual organization where he or she works," on page 180 so as to state that the journalist has an obligation to follow a strict code of ethics guided either by his or her morals or the company or newspaper organization he or she works for. it goes on to decare that democracy is possible only as long as an unhindered free press is and that it's no coincidence that the newly founded United States wanted a free press before they wanted anything else. The authors go on to describe how faulty media can damage someone's reputation and cause the public to consume false information faster than Chicago's best hotdog as the Cody Shearer and Kathleen Willey case exemplified. Misinformation speads like wild fire in today's incredibly fast media-especially if the story piece is as juicy as say- the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was. What remains to be seen, in my opinion, is whether or not jounalism will continue to grow as more and more people-even in third-world nations get what they want to know from the internet.

Mike Cruz, Jr.
January 31, 2006
Elements of Journalism; Summation of Second Half
Online Piece #2

The second half of the book gives a more in-depth look at what the profession does or should do in order to acquire and maintain an audience. Sections in the chapters list the last of the “Elements” as, providing a forum for public criticism, making the significant interesting and relevant, keeping the news proportional and comprehensive and finally stating “Journalist have an obligation to personal conscience” (pg. 181). Concerning “creating a forum,” the authors concentrate on “…alerting the public to issues in a way that encourages judgment” (pg. 135). This ties back into the first element of journalism, which is to provide citizens with the tools necessary to remain free and self-governing. In a later chapter a story involving immigrants sitting around reading aloud and discussing the day’s events is told and gives greater meaning to the term journalism. It is pointed out that this is how new citizens to America learned how to be “American,” this, in essence, is and should be a goal of journalism…to provoke conversation amongst its readers and viewers. Also talked about was a rather interesting fact. The authors pointed out research that said that in the long run, news organizations that chose to go the sensationalism route when reporting news didn’t fare well when compared to news organizations that didn’t.
At the outset of the book I thought the authors were simply going to harp on “the good ol’ days,” recalling how it used to be. Instead, after finishing it, I found this book rather insightful and even providing some hope. The authors are not delusional when it comes to offering ideas to fix the problems facing journalism; meaning they are preaching on a return to the old way of doing things. Instead, they offer a rather different approach by stating; “We hope we have spotlighted a group of new cartographers who are developing tools to chart the way people live their lives today and the needs for news these lives create” (pg. 177). This pretty much sums the book up; the authors are trying to give the next generation of writers a guide or template to work by; something to serve as a reference, not a guide.

Writing Piece #2
Today’s journalists have to overcome the huge obstacle of creating an interesting news piece which is accurately portrayed in the face of the conglomerate corporations which have taken over the best and most accessible mediums for journalists to access their story through. As the first half of Elements focused more on the idealisms of what makes a good journalist and how they apply those ideals to the industry, the second half takes a realist stand on how the journalists position is becoming increasingly more difficult. Perhaps the most difficult task for the journalist of contemporary society is to be a credible resource. As explained in chapter seven on public forum, although the journalism industry should maintain a stance on open criticism and input from the citizens for whom the journalist strive to inform, the information in this aspect can often become distorted, creating false stories or allegations and destroying its credibility to its citizens or readers.
The content of Elements is meant to give its readers a description of the journalist who can not only report on the news and illustrate the important facts accurately, but one who can create an audience simply through the words that they use, and how they are able to conform their words and interpretation of the news into an impartial report. Through an accurate and unbiased summary of the news, the journalist is also able to captivate more readers who are interested in a credible news source, giving more opportunities to the news organization for which they work.
Word Count: 256

Journalism today, stripped to the core, is nothing that it once was. "The Elements of Journalism" make it astonishingly clear that journalism is a business, at the very core of it, and that journalists not only have to compete with one another for attracting an audience, but with all other forms of media. The emergence of the Internet, as well as media outlets claiming to be journalists i.e. cable talk shows, internet newsgroups, have bombarded today's public with so much information that it is a Sisyphean task to make sense of it all. As a result of this information overload, making news engaging becomes a double-edged sword: writing a story with a certain amount of hype can cross the line between news and sensationalism, while keeping it strictly serious will bore or turn off a large part of the audience. It is not only necessary that a journalist maintain their integrity when producing news, but they must also make it relevant to an audience, a task which is becoming more difficult to handle.

Chapter seven of the book outlines the importance of journalism as a public forum; it is one of journalism's functions to cause the public to react to their community, by forming opinions of the news. Journalism helps stimulate discussion in a community; the authors see this forum function of journalism as an important quality of democracy. The difficulty of this, however, lies in maintaining the principles of truth, verification, and facts. The authors use televised debates as an example; debates, they say, help promote this forum function, but much of what is out there is extreme, in that they are shouting matches and attacks on character, rather than issues. "The media's penchant for talk has increasingly grown into a penchant for polarization;" the authors make it clear that they feel that this polarization of issues isolates a majority of the public, who are never completely on one side of an issue, but rather, at a happy medium. Chapter eight discusses journalism's goal to "make the significant interesting and relevant." The authors make it a point to say that writing news is not about making a choice between being engaging or relevant; news must be both in order to appeal to a wider audience. "Part of a journalist's responsibility...is not just providing information, but providing it in such a way that people will be inclined to listen." The difficulty of such a task, however, is a result of declining values in newsrooms: "time is a luxury of which journalists today feel they have less and less," as well as the misguided notion of shortened attention spans, which leads to shorter stories with minimal coverage. It is discussed that the news that is "merely engaging will fail as a business strategy for journalism over the long term for three...reasons:" if people are given only entertainment, their expectations of something else will be lower; delivery of "infotainment" lessens the credibility of an organization to deliver more serious news, as well as isolate it from audiences that seek it; and finally, when news is turned into entertainment, it can must compete with other forms of media that can provide entertainment as well. Chapter nine follows the same vein as chapter eight; news must be made relevant to a vast audience, rather than targeting only a given set of people. The final chapter of the book discusses the importance of a moral compass among journalists; "ethics are woven into every element of journalism, and we sense this as citizens often more acutely than do journalists themselves, who sometimes cordon ethics off as an isolated topic."

The latter half of "Elements" helps put the first six chapters in perspective; Chapters seven through nine help make practical the elements of journalism by applying them to the functions of journalism as a forum, as well as making it clear that journalism can still be creative and appeal to an audience, all the while retaining its integrity. It is obviously a challenge, especially in today's society, to appeal to an audience. Journalists have many challenges to face, such as competing media outlets, on top of maintaining their ethics and integrity as journalists. The authors do a good job, overall, discussing the elements of journalism, and put forth good examples of putting them in practice. Their use of quotes and examples is very effective in that one can understand their plight in reviving a waning art of truth and verification. In the end, the book is a good source for all journalists to read and understand their purpose.

Journalism today seems to represent so much more than just the story it covers. In Elements Chapters 7-10, the reader may grasp fundamental principles that underline not the story and composition of journalism, but rather how journalism should be presented to different aspects of society, including the local public. Elements talks about journalism being a public forum, engaging and relevant, comprehensive and proportional.
Journalism is fascinating to me because it is a public forum. Readers may respond to stories in magazines or newspapers and other readers may respond to other readers. Since readers have some power within these publications, they can influence the way many of these publications write. Often times, this leads to the best publication. Although any article taking any angle on a given topic will almost certainly lead to criticism from someone, it still helps further develop and recognize reader interests.
The media can be powerful and very influential, and it draws nationwide attention because journalists try their best to make stories as interesting and relevant as possible. In Elements, they give the example of an interview with Barbara Walters and Monica Lewinski. I didn’t see the interview first hand, but the book explained many juicy details from the presidential scandal. Sometimes, the questions asked delve so deep into one’s personal life, that journalists may seem almost obnoxious and rude for asking such questions. However, if a journalist does not ask these questions, she has failed. The duty of the journalist is to present the most detailed story possible.
A journalist can go about her work in a way that is independent, but I do not believe it is possible to be fully detached from any story a journalist writes. The inability to be independent is only furthered by the fact that the integrity, conscience, and profitability of news organizations must considered when writing every story. I believe the best thing a journalist can do is take more of a national perspective on a story and less of a local perspective. If the journalist is writing for a local newspaper, I believe this still holds true. For example, if you are writing for a local Seattle publication and are from Seattle, and you are writing a story on the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, you should write as though you didn’t expect them to make the playoffs, rather than adding any hometown bias towards your team. If the national perspective on this team during the season is they are mediocre, the journalist should move toward this idea, but still incorporate local ideas.

Chapters 7-10 deal with journalism in a different way than the first 6. Whereas personal integrity and accuracy were shown as keystones to good journalism within the first six chapters the impact of journalism on the face of truth is key to 7-10. These chapters build upon the foundation of global impact that the news has on its audience. They also bring to mind the relevance that local versus nationwide newspapers have to individual people. Events of dubious media attention as case in point Mathews-Shearer debacle only show what a time bomb Chris Mathews has become. This is the man who Senator Zed Mitchell challenged to a duel on national television following the Republican National Convention.
The quote that news people should remain “cussedly independent” stands out amidst all the other quotes offered by the book. It echoes the position taken by the most honest reporters of news. In chapter 8, the authors take a departure from their stance on factual certainty by asserting that,
“Journalists must make the significant interesting and relevant,”
And this I think can lead to a number of problems. The authors do pose the questions and rather beat around the bush about it citing crossword puzzles and home and food sessions as reference to what is being published as popular interest. The news that reporters publish must in some way engage the reader.
The problem with engagement and relevance is that stories aligning with the public’s popular interest are created with the public’s interest rather than the truth in mind. Truth may be found throughout a piece aimed at popular interest but the focus of the story has been tailor made for a wide range of interest. An instance of this, “What’s good for Clinton gander is good for goose” http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060131/pl_nm/clinton_dc_2 a piece designed for speculative debate and aimed specifically at the speculative interest in the 2008 presidential debate. The assertions of the piece make a nice press release for Clintons, democrats, republicans, fence-sitters. It is informative and withdrawn from the fierce speculations that it conjures up. Still, it is unverifiable tabloid gossip. It is considered news perhaps solely on the premise that Hilary Clinton’s run in the 2008 presidential election is popularly debated.
One of the basic realities imposed on the ideal of truth in the book is one of economics. Newspapers consider themselves invested in the public interest. They exercise a great deal of power over this interest, though it hinges ultimately on the truth that they portray. And while this seems to be all very idealistic people will only believe so much of what they hear. Or will they?
“Journalists have a responsibility to conscience.” This chapter again addresses the journalist on the individual level, however idealistically. According to the authors, “a heavy burden rests on the ethics and judgment of the individual journalist and the individual organization where he or she works. 180.” Stated so politically astute. The personal conscience of the journalist does reflect the truth of reporting. The politics of a newsroom, a newspaper, or any form of journalistic communication, where the information is to be assumed as true, should not interfere or misinterpret the truth.

Marcello Grigolo
1/26/2006
Elements of Journalism: Summary/Response
Online Piece #2

The authors make a convincing argument in the second half of “Elements of Journalism” concerning the importance of journalists fashioning engaging, relevant and challenging stories as opposed to simply polarizing ones. The authors believe that “proportion and comprehensiveness” are the keys to accuracy, and that any good news organization will target the community as a whole with representative reporting and as wide a focus as possible.

This idea of representing the entire community or the widest possible audience is a very important one. If one argues that democracy cannot flourish without a free and independent press, then it follows that journalists have a duty to engage a majority of the citizenry. After all, democracy is an ongoing conversation between people. The duty of journalism is not to divide but to unite, and to foster dialogue and informed debate between citizens by providing them with vital information. Furthermore, journalists must be allowed the liberty to pursue this directive free from the censorship of government and the corrupting influence of market forces.

According to the authors, the final element of journalism is as follows: Journalists have an obligation to personal conscience. They state that, “It is the most elusive of the principles, yet it ties all the others together.” Doubtless, its ethics distinguishes journalism from mere sensationalism and entertainment. Journalists must uphold these principles if they are to meet their obligation to the truth and to the public, and in turn, the public should demand no less of any news organization. However, the popularity of blogs in our modern culture, which serve as a new kind of public forum, is one sure sign that for now journalism is falling short of its intended purpose.

Kristen Krolicki
1-31-06
Elements 7-10
Piece # 2
Elements 7-10 Summarized
‘Journalism as a Public Forum’ first informs the reader to be aware of the cause and effect of speaking before fully thinking. Without knowing the actual facts, Chris Matthers accuses Cody Shearer of harassing Kathleen Willey. This was an assumption on Mathews part, one of which he did apologize for. Due to the fast speed of radio, TV and computers, the public was quickly misinformed. The truth and facts of a story are crucial because reputations can be quickly crumbled, due to assumptions and opinions.
Before televisions and computers could send fast information to interested citizens, the printing press was the holy grail of information about local and nation wide news. The newspaper created a brilliant excuse for the community to gather together and discuss the events at steak. When the TV became popular for the fasted form of information, reporters such as Heather Nauert were hired to capture attention from younger viewers. This brought up the rating along with loyal viewers.
At a point, journalism is compared to story telling with a purpose, making sure the information is meaningful and relevant. Information and facts are essential, but capturing it in the right words to put the readers on the edges of their seats is the trick. It’s also crucial to not give the story away too fast, but keep the audience engaged and intrigued to continue onto the next paragraph. In most cases, before a journalist begins a story, a few questions should be in mind such as: Who is the audience for this story? What different sorts of people have an interest in this subject, however passing? What do these people need to know about this to make up their own minds on the subject? These questions put the audience first and apply direct coverage.
Carol Marin, (a Chicago newscaster) stated, “I think a journalist is someone who believes in something that they would be willing to quite over.” She is explaining the passion involved with the job as a journalist and standing up for what you believe in. Passion can attract loyal viewers and lifetime followers.

Kristen Krolicki
1-31-06
Elements 7-10
Piece # 2
Elements 7-10 My Opinion
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions, but when it comes to journalism, facts are vital. Lack of evidence and solid proof could easily break a story along with ones own reputation. Chris Matthews is a great example of the humiliation that follows when assumptions are made and facts are left out. I am becoming aware of how incredibly important facts are what really make a great and powerful story.
I was quite intrigued when comparing journalism to story telling with a purpose. Creating a true story dedicated towards captivating the reader to continue on creates suspense with all the facts provided. I understand how important it is to reach your community and build trust within the community, because the journalist builds credibility and loyal readers.
Sometimes when providing a story, I can understand how too much information can lead to confusion and can easily loose the readers. Journalists want to make their stories meaningful and as unique as possible without loosing the facts. What happens when a story is provided just to claim a fast paycheck and there is no feeling or passion involved? I believe a reader can sense the lack of interest on the journalist’s part, and then lack of interest is passed onto the reader. When a story is fulfilling it keeps the reader on the edge, wanting more.

Ben Goldberger
1/26/06
Elements
Piece #2

Chapters 7-10 build on the principles outlined in chapters 6-10 with a discussion of some of the roles that the authors believe journalism should serve. According to Kovach and Rosenthal, journalism should function as a forum for public discourse on a variety of important issues. This, they say, will help promote a healthy democracy by holding the news outlets accountable to the public and by encouraging the public to participate in the process of understanding the world through discussion of the news. Also, by creating a space where readers can express their opinions, a conscious effort may be made to separate commentary and news. Journalism should also go beyond basic factual reporting by presenting the subject matter in a way that not only informs but engages the reader. Here relevance to peoples’ lives is of the utmost importance as is the style and organization of the writing. In chapter 9, the authors argue that coverage of the news should be “comprehensive and proportional” meaning the content should cover as many significant aspects of the news as reasonably possible and that the makeup of the newsroom and the news itself match the diversity of the community. Lastly, the authors explain that journalists have a duty to act ethically, to listen to their conscience. By doing so, they can keep the integrity of their profession intact and serve the public in the best possible way.

Kovach and Rosenthal explain that news companies do a disservice to the public as well as the long-term health of their companies and the industry as a whole when they turn to info-tainment or demographic targeting as means of increasing readership and selling advertising. Journalists should instead focus on news that is both relevant and engaging and that appeals to a wide variety of interests and concerns. Studies have shown that this approach is an effective way to gain viewer/reader loyalty. According to the Project for Excellence in Journalism study referenced by the authors, “stations producing higher-quality local [news] are twice as likely to be rising in ratings…and more likely to [succeed] than those that [don’t].” This means simply that the better the reporting, the better the readership/viewership, the better the ad sales. It’s a win-win-win formula but one that is obviously ignored in the prevailing journalistic culture. It also seems that despite the obvious advantages of news outlets functioning this way, the web they’ve woven in recent years is an utter mess and shows little sign of changing. Perhaps when the bottom line is threatened badly enough, the execs of these companies might consider a return to quality reporting.

Mike Cruz, Jr.
January 26, 2006
Elements Of Journalism; Summation of first half
Piece #2

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 "news" would catch on.

One of the issues pointed out in chapter seven is that in today’s society news is what ever sells. With all of the available news outlets (internet, magazines, newspapers, etc.) there is a fiery competition to grab the reader’s attention and sell your story. This poses a big problem because as this continues we the public will become less and less informed of real world events that will indeed have a big impact in our lives. So it is the journalists job to “. . . alert[] the public to issues in a way that encourages judgment” (pg. 135). Yet, holding a shouting match holding black and white views is not enough, mainly because the views held by the public are often somewhere in the grey area. Instead of seeing who can yell the loudest, news figures should be engaged in focusing the discussion towards a resolution.
In choosing a story, a journalist must be very careful. Today many news stations are grasping for straws in attempts to keep ratings up and winding up broadcasting “infotainment”. This new concept of news should be looked down upon by any true journalist because it does not follow the principals of journalism. It does not properly inform the public, as it shows in the Shearer incident. Facts are not checked nor does the press does not keep and independence from whom they cover. Robert Krulwich is quoted “We’ve reached the point where the entertainment divisions are doing news and the news divisions are doing entertainment” (pg. 171). Instead of turning the news into entertainment, a journalist must write his story as a narrative: “If we think of who as character, what as plot, where as setting, and how as narrative, we can blend information and storytelling” (pg. 157).
As before, I felt the second part of Elements was wordy, and also a little less informative than the first. There were however, some good quotes and examples that really helped get the message across. I really started to drift off in the last chapter do to repetitiveness and think I might have missed some points. All and all I think that The Elements of Journalism is a good text to introduce what journalism is all about.