Milestones in Journalism

							Mr. Gallo
 Journalism
  • The gathering and reporting of the news



 News
  • Information not previously known that is
   delivered through the mass media and has some
   impact on the audience
 Not Previously Known
  • Etymology
       From Anglo-French jurnal – “a day”
 Mass Media
  • Newspapers, newsletters, yearbooks
  • Television, radio
  • Internet, blogs
 Impact Audience
  • Who is the audience?
  • Is news reported differently to different
   audiences?
              the new opiate of the
 “Information is
 masses” (Mamet)

 How arewe bombarded with
 information?
 Writing
 Calling/commenting
 Reading/watching


 MEDIA DIARY
  • Track every bit of news you receive
     Reading, Watching, Listening
     Paying attention or overhearing?
     How much is around you? How much do you ignore?
 Some voices   are lost, or never heard

 Global connectedness becoming       a
 reality

 Journalism   represents a search for truth

 “Responsible Journalism   is Crucial to the
           Success of our Democracy”
 What Journalism does…..
  • Lets people maintain an ongoing conversation
    about who they are and what they want their
    communities to be.
  • ABC commentator, estimates at least 4/5 of what
    the average citizen learns about the world
    “comes filtered through the observations of a
    journalist.”
  • If this is true… what are journalists obligated to
    do?
 Weekly newspaper-small town,
 published once a week, found in towns
 with 5,000 or less people
  • Covers local events
  • Showcase life’s small victories
  • Sense of intimacy between the community and
   the weekly paper.
   National Newspaper Association reports that
    more people read weekly papers (66 million)
    than dailies.
    • They are cheaper in price
    • Cover day to day activities
    • Find photos of the county fair, reports of water levels,
      Little League baseball highlights

    Weekly newspapers are similar to H.S. newspapers,
     report on things that are going to happen or have
     happened.
 Feeling connected toone’s
 neighborhood is ultimately what makes
 journalism so important
 Journalism helps people talk about
  • Political Issues
  • Social Issues
  • Environmental Issues
  • Entertainment/Sports
 Daily- come out once a day, larger town
 or city.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Burlington County Times
                         once a day, but
 National Papers-come out
 provide a sense of community on a
 national level
  • Wall Street Journal
  • USA Today
 Accessible globally
 Dynamic
  • Linking – news is related
  • Video & Audio
  • Graphics & Animation
 Constantly updated
 Interactive
  • Immediate feedback and discussion
   Journalists
    •   Gather the news
    •   Report the news
    •   Provide financial support
    •   Managerial support
    •   Technical support
    •   Publishers
    •   Station owners
    •   Directors
    •   Camera Operators
    •   Etc…..
 Journalistsmust be credible.
 Credibility refers to the degree to which
  the public believes what it reads and
  hears.
 Absolute accuracy is the most important
  responsibility for journalists.
 People no longer listen to journalists
  when they are not accurate
 How to   be credible
  • Attention to detail
  • Double check names, numbers, and spelling
  • Find 2 or more people who can confirm the fact.
  People look at the press with cynical attitudes
  7 out of 10 Americans think the press
    “gets in the way of society solving its problems”
 Journalists   must be
  • Fair- to all sides
  • Balanced- so that the reporter considers what
    the minority view might be
  • Objective- the reporter needs to keep all
    personal feelings and bias out of the report
 Journalism    as a Spotlight
  • Examines people and events
  • Sets an agenda for public issues
  • Gives a greater priority to some stories
  • Gives accurate, up-to-date information
  • Protects the rights of citizens, by investigating
    and exposing wrong doings
  • Acts as a sentry… looking out for future trends
 Journalism     as a database
  • Provides a community with a large amount of
      information that can be accessed in many ways
      (i.e., the internet)
  •   A marketplace for ideas, bits of information,
      news and opinions
  •   Helps readers and listeners to understand and
      interpret stories of the day
  •   Provides a diversion with entertainment
  •   Keeps track of everything (deaths, births, etc.)
 Journalism   as an Open Forum
  • Brings people together, gives people a sense of
    belonging and community
  • “Public Journalism” – seeks to revitalize public
    life and promote a sense among members of the
    public that their institutions actually belong to
    them
  • Creates a venue in which reader/listener
    response can be heard, creates a public
    discourse
“Congress shall make no law respecting an
 establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
 free exercise thereof; or abridging the
 freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
 right of the people peaceably to assemble,
 and to petition the Government for a
 redress of grievances.”
 Freedom of    Religion
  • Establishments
  • Practices
 Free Speech
 Freedom of   the Press
 Right to Peaceful Assembly
 Right to Petition the Government
      American newspapers aligned
 Early
 themselves with one political party

 Dowe see examples of partisan press
 today?

 How canwe be sure we’re seeing a “fair
 and balanced” portrayal of events?
 Named for The Yellow    Kid, a cartoon that
  appeared in William Randolph Hearst’s
  New York Journal
 Appealed to the “Gee-Whiz” emotion,
  stories of stunts, crusades, drama-
  drenched events
 Experimented with design, typeface
 Emphasized crime, sex, violence
 Journalism that crusades for social justice
  or to expose wrongdoing
 Often published in magazines, rather
  than major newspapers – less dependent
  on advertising dollars
 Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle a famous
  example
  • However, Sinclair sought to call attention to the
   plight of immigrants, not unsanitary food
   practices
   Newspapers are now launching public service
    projects.

   Neighbors section
    • Reader-response columns
       -call or write in about credit cards, healthcare,
     sexual harassment, local building projects
 1732 – The Philadelphia Zeitung - 1st
  foreign language newspaper in the U.S.
 1808 – El Misisipi – 1st Spanish-language
  newspaper
 1827 – Freedom’s Journal – 1st black
  newspaper
 1972 – Gloria Steinem begins publishing
  Ms. magazine
                    need to represent the
 Journalist's stories
  various segments of their communities
 According to the American Society of
  Newspaper Editors….
  • Minorities represent about 11.5% of the
    journalists employed by daily newspapers
  • Of roughly 55,000 professional journalists, just
    over 6,300 were members of cultural or racial
    minorities.
 Kerner Commission, in    1968 criticized
  the American news media, following a
  series of riots in major cities in the U.S.
 The Commission insisted “the press must
  make a reality of integration-in both their
  product and their personnel”
 A study   conducted in 1999 reported
  • 5.4% of journalists were African American
     12.4% of the population
  • 3.5% Hispanic
     14.8% of the population
  • 2.3% Asian American
     4.4% of the population
  • .4% Native American
     1% of the population
  • Women make up 37% of the newsroom staff at
   daily newspapers
 A word   choice that avoids offending a
  particular group of people
 Los Angeles Times banned the words
  “deaf,” “alien,” and “handicapped” from
  its stories
 Movement was almost immediately met
  with great indignation and outcry
 Should theAmerican Press be restricted
 by the government?
  • Also consider when answering….
     If it should be restricted, who decides what the
      restrictions should be?
     What would the penalty be for violating the
      restrictions?
     Would such restrictions change the nature of
      American life? How?
     Are such changes good or bad?
   Government should                 Government should NOT
    intervene…                         intervene…
    • Answer these questions…           • Think about the
    • Would laws restricting the          following…
      media violate the first
      amendment?                           National security
    • Should editors, reporters,           Slanted news
      and network executives be            And the power of the
      subjected to criminal                 media to shape
      prosecution?
                                            public concerns
    • How would media
      restrictions relate to the
      philosophy on which the
      U.S government was
      founded?