Elements of Journalism: Introduction to Journalism Notes-2

Elements of Journalism

Introduction to Journalism; Notes-2 for under graduate students

Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their book ‘Elements of Journalism’ (2001), mentioned 10 elements which are highly recommended while teaching journalism and its nuances. These elements include:  

1. Obligation to tell the Truth
2. Loyalty to citizens
3. Verification of information
4. Practitioners’ Independence from subjects
5. Monitor those in power
6. Provide a forum for Public criticism
7. Keep news interesting and relevant
8. Keep news comprehensive and proportional
9. Maintain personal sense of Ethics and Responsibility
10. Citizens have rights & responsibilities

We explain the above elements bearing in mind the Indian context in the following words:

A journalist has the obligation to tell the Truth-

It is the duty of a journalist to report the truth in any given situation for people to be aware, gain knowledge and understand the reported event. The facts and details are to be verified and only then published, Personal Opinion does not count as a factual reporting of a particular event that has occurred. News Reporting unlike Feature writing should be factual, objective and accurate without bias.

Journalism uses the term Objective journalism ad Subjective journalism. Objective journalism is reporting the facts as seen, without distortion and in context. Subjective Journalism also called advocacy journalism is a biased form of journalism where the reporter reports the events with an intentional bias in order to portray the new to a particular party’s (self or another) benefit.

In a democratic country like India, subjective journalism has done a lot of harm with a biased reporting in a context of its given rich and varied cultural heritage. On the other hand, there are a large number of Objective journalists who have retained the honest and worthy respect of the journalistic profession. According to the American Press Institute, “Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, subject to further investigation” (American Press Institute).

A journalist should practice loyalty to the citizens-

In any given Media institution, there is a pressure to follow the dictate of the owners and the advertisers. Good journalism requires loyalty to the country and its Citizens. It is the duty of the journalist to be the voice of all people, irrespective of their socio-cultural background. 

Ignoring certain people belonging to the nation and speaking only for a selected few shows prejudice and lack of representation of the citizens in their entirety. This further could lead to loss of credibility before the people. The arena today, is run over by Conglomerates and media houses who run the rooster in the field of News channels. Journalists are often accused of succumbing to Political and Economic pressure due to high maintenance costs of a channel and survival instincts. This is a wrong trend. As stated in the American Press Institute, “Journalists must strive to put the public interest – and the truth – above their own self-interest or assumptions”.

A journalist should verify the information before reporting-

Authenticity and Factual information are a must! Journalists are responsible for what they print, report or upload. A false rumour could cause chaos in today’s digital world where news spreads fast. Hence, it must be the priority of a journalists to cross check facts, talk to multiple witnesses and sources, check for both pros and cons, before reporting any news. If a news report appears on a known forum, people tend to circulate the same. A false report could lead to damage of reputation for someone, cause chaos and harm to citizens.

A journalists’s practice of profession should be independent from those they cover-

The American Press Institute rightly says that “Journalists must avoid straying into arrogance, elitism, isolation or nihilism”. Basically, the meaning of this statement is that Journalists should not succumb to the pressures of corruption.

Economics, Party Politics and business interference are just the top of the iceberg in the list of things that could hamper the authenticity of reports and coverage of news. Today, it is a known and widespread phenomenon. There is a dangerous trend which leads to compromise of values by many journalists. Those who have not compromised often turn to the Internet to appeal to the citizens and air their views.

A journalists duty is to monitor those in power-

In a Democracy, the media is considered to be the fourth pillar. It plays the Watchdog role and has to take on the responsibility of reminding the other three pillars of judiciary, executive and legislature of the country of their duties and responsibilities towards the nation.  Journalists play the watchdog role and are called to challenge those in power who do not fulfill the obligations of the positions. It is very important that media reports successes and failures, incomplete jobs and scams in an unbiased way so that people are aware of the happenings around them.

Journalism should provide a forum for public criticism and compromise-

A journalist is often called to be the 'Voice of the Voiceless'. All voices must be audible through a journalistic forum, thus aiding people who need their voices and demands to be heard by the government. Journalism provides this forum.

The trend in India today, is to choose particular statements spoken by politicians and raise debates, the endless cycle of such debates often negates news that actually requires a face and a forum to be expressed. Trivial statements are exploited to raise TRPs (Target Rating Points) which ultimately are not what Journalism is meant to stand for. A debate should represent all viewpoints in a vividly clear manner and help garnered to arrive at a good consensus where the issue that needs attention gains momentum.

A journalist should keep news interesting and relevant-

It is important that journalists figure the knack of keeping their readers hooked on to their respective platforms be it traditional or digital media. American Press Institute rightly mentions that, “Journalism is storytelling with a purpose. It must balance what readers know they want with, what they cannot anticipate but need”.

A journalist should keep news comprehensive and proportional-

It is required of a journalist to not sensationalise one event, negate another and stereotype a third in order to garner TRPs for one’s publishing forum. While diverting the people’s view the journalist creates a road map of news information which is unreliable for the people to travel or journey onto. Those who resort to such gimmicks in the long run lose credibility as at some point or the other the audience, the reader, the viewer recognises the pattern of deceit or unrealistic motive.

A journalist should have a sense of ethics and responsibility-

The role of a journalistic seems larger than life, however, it is all about being honest to one’s profession, country and its people. An integral journalist follows the moral compass of his/her heart while discerning what news is and how it should be communicated. A journalist cannot be irresponsible while communicating news that may be sensitive and lead to chaos in the country and at the same has to challenge an existing wrong with full gusto and proof. A journalist should not go by rumours that are deliberately planted and enter into trolling and maligning people with proper proof or reason that a particular problem needs to be brought to the limelight.

Citizens have rights & responsibilities and can contribute as Citizen Journalists-

The technological boom and availability of the Internet on handheld devices of communication like mobiles and notepads, etc, has led to many people capturing videos and pictures of incidents, events and disaster and posting them online thus becoming part of a huge movement called Citizens journalism. Secondly, many are adept at Social networking, thus commenting on articles and writing Blogs, which gives an all-round perspective. However, caution needs to be practiced as Public relation and advertising teams are often hired to sow news and opine on networking forums. Many newspapers and news channel encourage Citizen journalism in order to encourage the people to contribute to their own welfare news that could lead to growth in Society and also retain the audience.

These are the elements of good Journalism.