Lesson I TITLE - JOURNALISM CONCEPTS

Content 1.1Introduction to journalism 1.23Concept of Journalism 1.3Nature of journalism 1.1.4Types of Journalism 1.4.1Media based 1.4.2Content based 1.5People involved in Journalism 1.6 Qualities and responsibilities of a Journalist

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM In todays era of communication and technology, people want to be aware and it is the role of the mass media to spread information about every relevant happening in the world. Newspapers, radio, television and more recently the internet are various means of spreading information and journalists have a very significant role to play in this practice. Politics, economics, art, culture, history, business, sports, entertainment and many other areas are covered by journalists. Concept of Journalism Journalism is the publication of news and views on various aspects of human activities in news papers and periodicals. In a broader sense, the functions of journalism are to convey national policies to the public, and to keep the Government, at Local, State and Central levels, informed of public needs. It also brings to the notice of the Government public reaction to Government policies and decisions. In addition. it keeps the public and the Government informed of events and happenings at home and abroad. Journalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the cell phone. It is the process of collection, writing, editing, and publishing news in newspapers and magazines collectively. Journalism is the production of news reports and editorials through media such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the Internet.

TYPES OF JOURNALISM Journalism is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying, and presenting news regarding current events, trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as journalists.

Journalism is broadly categorized into media based and content based journalism.

Media based journalism: Depending on the type of medium used, journalism can be divided into: a. PRINT JOURNALISM: Print journalism includes writing and publishing for newspapers, news magazines, general interest magazines, trade magazines, hobby magazines, newsletters, private publications, online news pages and others.

b. BROADCAST JOURNALISM: includes broadcasting for both radio and television. Radio journalist must gather facts and present them fairly and accurately, but also must find and record relevant and interesting sounds to add to their reports, both interviews with people involved in the story and the background sounds that help characterize the story. Radio reporters may also write the introduction to the story read by a radio news anchor, and may also answers question live from the anchor.

Television journalists rely on visual information to illustrate and characterize their reporting, including on-camera interviews with people involved in the story, shots of the scene where the story took place, and graphics usually produced at the station to help frame the story. Like radio reporters, television reporters also may write the introductory script that a television news anchor would read to set up their story. Both radio and television journalist usually does not have as much space to present information in their reports as print journalists.

c. ON-LINE JOURNALISM: The fast and vast growth of the internet and World Wide Web has spawned the newest medium for journalism, on-line journalism. The speed at which news can be disseminated on the web, and the profound penetration to anyone with a computer and web browser, have greatly increased the quantity and variety of news reports available to the average web user. The bulk of on-line journalism has been the extension of existing print and broadcast media into the web via web versions of their primary products. New reports that were set to be released at expected times now can be published as soon as they are written and edited, increased the deadline pressure and fear of being scooped many journalists must deal with.

Content based journalism: Depending on the type of content that is generated in the media, journalism can be divided into various types. Each or all of these can be found in all the media mentioned above.

a. FEATURE JOURNALISM: Newspapers and periodicals often contain features written by journalists, many of whom specialize in this form of in depth journalism. Features articles usually are longer than straight news articles, and are combined with photographs, drawings or other art. They may also be highlighted by typographic effects or colors.

b. SPORTS JOURNALISM: Sports journalism covers many aspects of human athletic competition, and is an integral part of most journalism products, including newspapers, magazines, and radio and television news broadcasts. While some critics dont consider sports journalism to be true journalism, the prominence of sports in western culture has justified the attention of journalists to not just the competitive events of sports, but also to athletes and to the business of sports.

c. SCIENCE JOURNALISM: Science journalism is a relatively new branch of journalism, in which journalists reporting conveys information on science topics to the public. Science journalists must understand and interpret very detailed, technical and sometimes jargon-laden information and render it into interesting reports that are comprehensible to consumers of news media. Science Journalism is the key to the real treasure of the scientific knowledge, by virtue of which scientific knowledge and concepts could be carried to the common man.

d. INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM: Investigative journalism, in which journalists investigative and expose unethical, immoral and illegal behavior by individual, business and government agencies, can be complicated, time-consuming and expensive-requiring teams of journalists, months of research, interviews (sometimes repeated interviews) with numerous people, long-distance travel, computers to analyze public-record databases, or use of the companys legal staff to secure documents under freedom of information laws.

e. PEOPLE JOURNALISM OR CELEBRITY: Celebrity journalism differs from feature writing in that it focuses on people who are either already famous or are especially attractive, and in that it often covers celebrities obsessively, to the point of these journalists behaving unethically in order to provide coverage. Journalists who follow celebrities constantly to obtain potentially embarrassing photographs, have come to characterize celebrity journalism.

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN JOURNALISM JOURNALIST: A journalist (also called a newspaper man) is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current issues. The activity or profession of being a journalist includes aggregating, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles for widespread distribution, typically in periodical print publications and broadcast news media, for the purpose of informing the audience. An entry-level reporter often does "general assignment" stories rather than stories for a specific beat. General assignment stories are given out to reporters by the city desk or assignment editor. The following personnel are found in most news organizations that are large. Smaller organizations need not have all the people mentioned below or one person does more than one job. Associate Editor: Would direct the preparation of a section of the newspaper or magazine. Preparation of news, featured articles and critical reviews will be his job. He will also have to plan the layout and assign reporters and photographers. To be an assistant editor, one must be aware and have the ability to write, edit and question constructively. Sub-editor: Sorting the contents of the material to be printed, rewriting articles to ensure that they fit into the assigned space, improving the language and giving appropriate and attractive headlines will be his job as a sub-editor. Imagination, understanding and sense of news are imperative for this job. Editor: Editor is the key head who ensures consistency and continuity of the newspaper or magazine. His job as an editor would be to present the newspaper in an

attractive manner and assure that it is highly utilitarian. Also appointing his juniors, writing the editorial section and leading the team will be his responsibility. Proof Reader: Proof Reader compares proofs with the edited copy. His job as a proof reader would involve completing the final text accurately. For this job he must have detailed knowledge of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Reporter: As the key operator of a newspaper, magazine, news agency, radio or television channel, his job will be to report with speed, clarity and accuracy. The sense to recognize a story and objectivity will be vital in ensuring that he acts as the primary source of news. Correspondent/Special reporter: To be a reporter for a special purpose, he must have detailed knowledge in a single field like politics, economics, sports etc. He must have the ability to interpret and explain the news on the basis of his awareness. Writer: As a writer his job would involve choosing subjects and themes, conducting researches and assembling the material to write. Feature writer: Writing detailed stories and commentaries on specific topics is the job of a feature writer. Leader writer: These writers express their ideas and views on news topics through editorial columns. Columnist: As a columnist, he would be writing for a specific segment in the newspaper or magazine. His column would project his view concerning any topic that he knows about like fashion, politics or films. Critic: In order to be a critic, he will have to be well-read and experienced. Be it film, drama, literature or art, he must have comprehensive knowledge in the subject. Photojournalist: Photojournalists are visual reporters who click photographs at events that make news. In order to be a photojournalist, he must be quick and willing to work in difficult conditions. He should also be capable of clicking relevant and good news pictures, write appropriate captions and be aware of the technical aspects of photography. Cartoonist: If the person is artistic and humorous, then a career as a cartoonist will be suitable for him. His job would involve commenting on public figures and events in a comical or satirical manner through his sketches.

QUALITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A JOURNALIST The job of a reporter is to gather news and write it for his organization. Sub-editor makes it fit to print. Reporters go out in the field while sub editors work at the News desk where all the news that comes, is selected, edited, each news story is given a suitable headline and its place in the newspaper is decided. Reporters can become senior reporters, correspondents, senior correspondents, chief reporters, special correspondents and foreign corresponds, sub editors, chief sub editor, deputy news editor and news editor. But the basic job of a reporter remains news gathering and filling the reporter or copy to the news desk. To be a good reporter or good sub-editor what one needs is common sense and command over language. These two requirements in fact summarize the qualities of newsman should have as other qualities flow from these two and the basic Human values. News sense: It is the basic quality of news man. Every reporter has to have news sense or nose for news to distinguish news from non-news. He should be able to compare various news values and decide where to being his story and should not miss important details. Clarity: A reporter should have clarity of mind and expression. A person who is confused himself cannot tell a story to others. Only clarity of mind is not enough unless it is accompanied by clarity of expression without clarity of mind has no meaning. Objectivity:Reporter and sub- editor should aim at objectivity while dealing with a story. They should not allow their personal bias or ideas to creep in to a story. They should not take side but try covering all the different viewpoints to achieve balance in the story. Accuracy: A reporter should strive for accuracy. He should check and recheck his fact till he is satisfied that he has them accurate. In this respect he should not take any chance as accuracy is directly proportional to the credibility of a reporter and his newspaper Alertness: A reporter should always be a last which dealing with his subjects. Many major news breaks in the past were possible because of alertness of reporter. Scoops dont walk in to newspaper offices- alert reporters catch them in air and pursue. Speed: In todays world speed matters everywhere. A person who cannot work fast cannot be a good reporter. While maintaining all other desirable qualities a reporter should strive to work faster. He should think fast, write fast and write or type fast for he has to meet deadlines or may have to go to another assignment. Calmness: Reporter and sub editors often work in trying circumstances. They have to remain calm and composed in most exciting and tragic circumstances. In many situations they have to be calm devoid of hysterical actions or utterances and apply appropriate mental and physical effort to write or edit the story. Curiosity: Reporters should have an unsuitable curiosity for reporters it is useful in developing last for facts that may lead to better stories. Skepticism: It is another necessary quality which a reporter and sub editor should cultivate. They should not take anything for granted. They should have an unwavering posture of doubt until faced with undesirable posture of doubt until faced with undesirable proof. Reporters should be more vigilant for many forces constantly try to use them and though them their paper. Many people try to plant on reporters fall in to such traps in good faith. They should have enough skepticism to avoid such plots. Punctuality: It is a good habit for reporters it is a must for if they are not punctual they may miss something for which they made have to depend on secondary sources. It is

always better to be punctual and then wait than reach late and ask others a rival may misinformation you or hide some important information. Patience: It is quality which helps a reporter in big a way for many a time almost daily. He has to test his patience, the voluntary self control or resistant that helps one to endure waiting, provocation, injustice, suffering or any of the unpleasant vicissitudes of time and life. Most of the time a reporter waits for someone or something and patience gives him the willingness to wait without becoming dissented or anxious. Imagination: This basic mental faculty helps reporters in writing better stories that retain readers interest creative faculty is very useful. Is he can add sparkle to somebody else copy and make it lively. Besides, imagination headlines attract the reader and improve the quality of a news paper. Farsightedness: An intelligent envisioning of the future helps news men in general. The quality helps them identify processes and people who will be important in future. Reporters can watch such processes and cultivate people who may become important news sources in the future. A reporter with foresight can think ahead and prepare for eventualities with a little for thought sub-editors can plan their work so as to avoid tension and it results in better functioning of the desk. Self Discipline: One can achieve a degree of proficiency in sub editing or reporting by systematic effort and self control. In this sense self discipline suggests dedication and firm commitment. Integrity: It is a virtue in itself and implies undeviating honesty and strict adherence to a strong code of ethics. It is more important for a reporter for they are more exposed to temptations. Fearlessness and Frankness: These qualities help reporters in asking unpleasant questions and taking risks to find out truths. Nobody gives a story on a platter. The reporter will help to probe, question and exercise his power of dedication to get a good story. Tactfulness: A reporter should be fact full. He should have the ability to handle sensitive people and situations gracefully without causing heart or angry feelings. He should considerably of others and should be careful not to embrace upset or offend them. Initiative: A reporter who works in the field should have an outgoing nature with initiative and drive. These qualities will help him get acquainted with news sources and get stories from them. A meet retiring or shy person is not fit for reporting. He may be good at desk. Reporters need a fair amount assertiveness and aggressiveness to be successful in their career. Mobility: A reporter should be mobile. He should enjoy moving around and should not hesitate traveling distances to get stories when required. He should go to his news sources as often as possible for such constant contacts help him get news. Diligence: Reporter and sub-editors should be diligent. Their jobs require painstaking exertion of intense care and effort, alertness and dedication to the task and very watchfulness. They have to make extremely fine distinctions while writing or editing copy. ***

References Ajay D. Basic concepts of journalism

Ahuja, B.N. & Chabra s.s., Principles and Techniques of Journalism Rangaswami, P. 1984. Basic journalism Kamath M.V., The journalists handbook 1. Journalism is the __________ reporting of events (Timely) 2. Journalism is not just fact-finding but also includes __________ analysis (Media) 3. Journalism is broadly categorized into media based and _________ based journalism. (Content)
4. Exposing unethical, immoral and illegal behavior by individual, business and

government agencies is ______________ type of journalism. (Investigative)

5. Conveying technical information to the public is known as __________ type of

journalism. (Science) 6. The key head that ensures consistency and continuity of the newspaper or magazine is ___________. (Editor) 7. A person who practices journalism is called ______________. (Journalist) 8. A sub-editors job is to ___________ a copy to make it suitable for publication. (Edit) 9. The reporters duty is to (b) a) Edit news b)Gather news c) Rewrite news d) None of the above 10. The journalist should have ( d ) a) News sense b) Objectivity c) Nose of news d) All the three