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Elements of Journalism

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434 views12 pages

Elements of Journalism

Uploaded by

lry200416
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Prepared by MVL

Media and Communication Department


10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of
journalism, 1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth


 reliable and accurate facts
 not the truth in the absolute or philosophical or
scientific sense but rather a pursuit of “the truths by
which we can operate on a day-to-day basis.”
 “journalistic truth” in assembling and verifying facts
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of journalism,
1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

2. Its first loyalty is to citizens


 Other than advertisers, ultimate allegiance to citizens
 Ignoring certain citizens has the effect of disenfranchising
 business people in a news organization also must nurture –
not exploit
 Technology may change but trust – when earned and
nurtured – will endure.
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of journalism, 1st edn,
Third Rivers Press, New York.

3. Its essence is a discipline of verification


 Journalists rely on a professional discipline for verifying
information
 “get it right”
 the journalist must make decisions, he or she is not and cannot
be objective but journalistic methods are objective.
 transparent approach to evidence
 Seeking out multiple witnesses, disclosing as much as possible
about sources, or asking various sides for comment, all signal
such standards. This discipline of verification is what separates
journalism from other forms of communication such as
propaganda, advertising, fiction, or entertainment.
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of journalism,
1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence


from those they cover

 Independence
 Not seduced by sources
 open-mindedness and intellectual curiosity
 While editorialists and commentators are not neutral, the
source of their credibility is still their accuracy, intellectual
fairness and ability to inform
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of
journalism, 1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power

 Watchdog role
 Monitoring arms of power
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of
journalism, 1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and


compromise

 carriers of public discussion


 need for an abundant supply of information
 Journalism should also attempt to fairly represent
varied viewpoints and interests in society
 Improve quality of debate
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of journalism,
1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

7. It must strive to keep the significant interesting and


relevant

 storytelling with a purpose


 must balance what readers know they want with what they
cannot anticipate but need.
 journalists must continually ask what information has the
most value to citizens and in what form people are most
likely to assimilate it.
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of
journalism, 1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

8. It must keep the news comprehensive and


proportional

 creates a map for citizens to navigate society.


 Inflating events for sensation, neglecting others,
stereotyping, or being disproportionately negative all
make a less reliable map
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
Kovach, B & Rosenstiel, T 2007, The elements of journalism,
1st edn, Third Rivers Press, New York.

9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their


personal conscience

 involves one’s moral compass and demands a personal


sense of ethics and responsibility.
 those who provide news have a responsibility to voice their
personal conscience out loud and allow others to do so as
well
 Having a sense of ethics is perhaps most important for the
individual journalist or online contributor
10 ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM
10. Citizens, too, have rights and responsibilities when it
comes to the news

 Writing a blog entry, commenting on a social media site, sending


a tweet, or “liking” a picture or post, likely involves a shorthand
version of the journalistic process.
 One comes across information, decides whether or not it’s
believable, assesses its strength and weaknesses, determines if it
has value to others, decides what to ignore and what to pass on,
chooses the best way to share it, and then hits the “send” button.
 purpose of journalism is to give people the information they
need to make better decisions about their lives and society.
 journalism involves the conscious, systematic application of a
discipline of verification to produce a “functional truth,” as
opposed to something that is merely interesting or informative.
“Journalistic responsibility is “to provide citizens with
the tools they need to extract knowledge for themselves
from the undifferentiated flood or rumor, propaganda,
gossip, fact, assertion, and allegation the
communications system now produces.”

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