Principles of Journalism
& the News Media
JMSC0101
Masato Kajimoto
Being a journalist
Approximately, three
journalists are killed every
month around the world.
Seven out of ten are murdered,
many on the orders of
government officials.
Few cases are ever solved.
Why do people kill or risk
death over information?
Being a reporter . . .
Semester Review
Objectives:
News Literacy (based on Stony Brook model)
Critically analyze news stories and their presentation by
Recognizing the difference between journalism and other kinds of
information and between journalists and other information
purveyors
Recognizing the difference between news and opinion
In the context of news stories, understanding the difference between
assertion and verification and between evidence and inference
Distinguishing between news media bias and audience bias
Understanding how journalists work and make decisions
Basic Concepts
•
Broadly defined, journalists are communicators
•
They mix and disseminate all sorts of information
•
We need to define what "journalism" is so that we can
separate it from the rest
•
A taxonomy of information neighborhoods
•
VIA
Basic Concepts
•
Broadly defined, journalists are communicators
•
They mix and disseminate all sortsV
oferification
information
•
We need to define what "journalism" is so that we can
separate it from the rest
•
A taxonomy of information
Aneighborhoods
ccountability Independence
•
VIA
A#Taxonomy#of#Information#Neighborhoods
Journalism
Primary4Goal
To#Inform
Entertainment
To#Amuse#or#engage#people# To#Sell#goods,#services#
during#their#leisure#time#in#
activities#in#which#they#are#
passive#participants.
Methods
Verification,#Independence,#
Accountability.
Practitioners
Reporters,#
Photographer/Videographers,#
Editors,#Producers
Outcomes
Empowers#citizens#by#educating#
them.
Promotion
StoryDtelling,#performance,#the#
visual#arts#&#music.
Propaganda
Raw4
Information
To#Build#Mass#
To#Bypass#institutional#
Support#for#an#ideology# filters#and#distribution#costs#
and#talent/personalities#by#
increasing#their#appeal#to#
by#canonizing#its#leaders#or#
consumers.
demonizing#its#opposition.
in#order#to#Sell,#Publicize,#
Advocate,#Entertain,##and#
Inform.
Paid#Advertising#&#Public#
OneDsided#accounts#or#
Facebook,#YouTube,#blogs,#
Relations#activities.##Press#
outright#lies,#relying#on#
Twitter,#websites,#website#
releases,#public#statements,# emotional#manipulation#
comment#sites,#chain#email,#
staged#events,#sponsorships,# through#images,##appeals#to# text#message#forwarding,#
product#placement,#web#
majority#values#and#
flyers,#graffiti.
sites,#viral#videos,#etc
fallacious#reasoning.
Writers,#actors,#artists,#musicians,# Ad#agencies,#Publicists,#
designers.
Public#Relations#experts,#
government#spokespersons.#
Political#operatives#and#
organizations.
Anyone#with#a#web#
connection,#photocopier,#or#
can#of#paint.
Distraction#from#or#changed#view# Increased#sales#of#products# Helps#an#ideological#group# Outlet#for#selfDexpression,#
of#daily#life.#Reinforcement##or# and#services#or#higher#fees# seize#or#maintain#power,#by# entertainment,#promotion,#
critique#of#social#norms.
for#talent#being#promoted. influencing#public#opinion#
advocacy,#propaganda.
and#motivating#the#public#to#
take#action#consistent#with#
the#ideology.
Information Neighborhoods
Verification
Independence
Accountability
An essential part of
journalism is ensuring that
stories are accurate and
truthful
In order to be fair and
accurate, journalists must
not fall prey to outside
influence. Their goal is to
inform the public.
Journalists and news
organizations stand by their
work, take responsibility for
their methods and content,
admit when they are wrong.
Dramatic storytelling often
trumps truth and accuracy.
Entertainers' goal is to
amuse.
Entertainers are not really
concerned with
independence.
Entertainers usually stand
by the quality of their work.
Though laws prevent
outright deception in ads
and publicity, exaggeration
and one-sidedness are the
hallmarks of promotion.
Promotion is inherently not
independent; the people
doing the promotion have a
vested interested in the
thing or person being
promoted.
It is often not apparent
which ad agencies and
publicity firms produce
promotional materials.
Inherently not independent.
Propagandists are often
opportunistic, attach
themselves to a cause for
their own benefit.
May or may not be.
Often anonymous,
especially on line, where
user names and aliases
disguise the people who
share information.
Journalism
Entertainment
Promotion
Propaganda
Truthfulness and accuracy
are the enemies of
propaganda, which seeks
to deceive and demonize
with the purpose of rallying
people to a cause or party.
At this stage information
has not been filtered or
verified.
Raw
Information
Information Neighborhoods and VIA
Universal news drivers
•
Eminence and prominence
•
Importance, Impact (especially political and economic)
•
Tragedy, conflict, misfortune
•
Peculiarity (unusualness)
•
Magnitude, immediacy
•
Human interest
•
Proximity, relevance
•
Trend, new discovery, change
Other factors that affect news
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News angles
•
Editorial judgement
•
Audience
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Competition
•
Practical issues: availability of sources, deadline,
reporters’ experience, language ability, culture, images
(especially TV), etc
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Fairness and balance in journalism
•
Balance: Equality between the totals of the two or more
sides of the account. Watch out for false equivalence.
•
Fairness: Impartiality and honesty. Free from selfinterest, prejudice, or favoritism. Fair to the evidence.
•
Fair play (obvious effort to include relevant
perspectives), fair language, fair presentation
•
Opinion journalism (editorials, op-eds, columns)
should also be fair to the evidence although its
language, tone, etc, can be emotional or dramatic.
Judging the reliability of sources
I'M VAIN
Independent Sources Are Better Than Self-Interested Sources
Multiple Sources Are Better Than Single Sources
Sources Who Verify Are Better Than Sources Who Assert
Authoritative/Informative Sources Are Better Than Uninformed Sources
Named Sources Are Better Than Unnamed Sources
Journalistic truth
•
Sources provide direct and indirect evidence,
inference, facts, assertion, opinion, etc.
•
Journalistic truth is the best obtainable version of the
truth on any given day. It is a continuing journey
toward understanding . . . which builds over time.
•
Process of verification must be transparent.
News Deconstruction
(How to judge reliability)
Summarize the main points: Does the headline and
the lead support the main point(s)?
Is the evidence direct or arm’s-length? Has the
reporter verified the evidence by herself/himself?
Evaluate the sources. I’M VA/IN.
Does the reporter make her/his work transparent?
Does the reporter provide the context?
Are the key questions answered? 5Ws1H?
Is the story fair?
And the whole point is . . .
What can we do with the
information?
Is it ACTIONABLE?
Is it actionable?
Are you better informed?
Can you reach a conclusion?
Can you take an action?
Can you make a judgment?
Can you share the information with confidence?
Photo Journalism
TV Journalism
Social media, internet and news
Please fill in the two
evaluation forms online
(password: jmsc)
Exam