What is journalism? Principles of Journalism January 30, 2018
“What can I say about journalism? It has the greatest virtue and the greatest evil. It is the first thing the dictator controls. It is the mother of literature and the perpetrator of crap. In many cases it is the only history we have and yet it is the tool of the worst men. But over a long period of time and because it is the product of so many men, it is perhaps the purest thing we have. Honesty has a way of creeping in even when it was not intended.” -John Steinbeck
Quiz What major problem did progressive Democrats have with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreeing to the continuing resolution that reopened the government? A.That Democrats should prioritize its strategy to push for programs such as Social Security and health care and not put the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as a priority B.That Democrats should have pressed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to restore the filibuster for appointments in exchange for agreeing the reopen the government C.Democrats not standing up for its positions and compromising with Republicans will make it difficult for Democrats to win elections D.Democrats needed to put ads on TV and social media to convince people of their position E.Democrats should have not met with President Trump because it was predicted that the president would not keep the televised agreement made
Quiz What major problem did progressive Democrats have with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreeing to the continuing resolution that reopened the government? A.That Democrats should prioritize its strategy to push for programs such as Social Security and health care and not put the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as a priority B.That Democrats should have pressed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to restore the filibuster for appointments in exchange for agreeing the reopen the government C.Democrats not standing up for its positions and compromising with Republicans will make it difficult for Democrats to win elections D.Democrats needed to put ads on TV and social media to convince people of their position E.Democrats should have not met with President Trump because it was predicted that the president would not keep the televised agreement made
Takeaways • Identify difficulties in defining journalism • Understand our working definition of journalism Carried over from last week • Recognize common metaphors for journalism • Explain the idea of journalists as a tribe
Carryovers
Definining
Nouns / Verbs
In or Out?
• “Citizen Journalists” • Huffington Post • Vogue • Think Progress • Breitbart • Reason magazine • Fox News • Google News • MSNBC • Eyewitness on Twitter • Sierra magazine • Company press release • Professor’s blog • ESPN
“Journalism is a set of transparent, independent procedures aimed at gathering, verifying and reporting truthful information of consequence to citizens in a democracy.” –Stephanie Craft and Charles Davis in Principles of American Journalism
Other key values Objectivity Balance Fairness Professionalism Audience reach Newsworthiness
People vs. Practice
Common lookalikes “Party organs” PR Advertising Entertainment Pure information
In or Out?
• “Citizen Journalists” • Huffington Post • Vogue • Think Progress • Breitbart • Reason magazine • Fox News • Google News • MSNBC • Eyewitness on Twitter • Sierra magazine • Company press release • Professor’s blog • ESPN
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