Chapter 1 - Reading Material

COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN
SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
CAMPUS JOURNALISM
Chapter 1
Foundational Concepts on Journalism
Scope and Nature of Journalism

Before getting into the skills of writing journalistic articles, anyone must have a fixed
understanding of the scope of modern-day journalism. Huge as it is, journalism is everywhere,
just as media takes an integral part in our lives. Where there is media, journalism exists.
As a field that is worth working, journalism is one of the most prestigious careers one
must gear today. The tools of communication and technology are television, the printed media,
and radio. The internet is a more recent addition to this list. Many students are getting attracted
to this field nowadays because a career in journalism can be challenging as well as highly
rewarding.
Journalism is concerned, primarily, with the collection and dissemination of news through
the print media as well as the electronic media. This involves various areas of work like reporting,
writing, editing, photographing, broadcasting or cable casting news items. It covers the print
media that comes in the form of broadsheets, tabloids, newsletters and magazines.
As regards its etymology, journalism comes from the Latin word, diurnal, which means
daily. That is why there is a word Journal – a daily register of one’s activities. Hence, journalism
is a communication of day-to-day information, whether through sounds, pictures and words. Few
places where journalism may appear include newspapers, magazines, televisions, radios and the
internet.
Newspapers are the oldest and most traditional format for the inclusion of journalism.
They are regularly scheduled publications containing news of current events, informative articles,
diverse features and advertising, Indeed, newspapers originally started life as ‘journals', from
which the word “journalism” is derived. During the 19th century, American journalists relied on
sensational stories that were used to excite or anger the public, rather than to inform them. This
form of journalism became known as yellow' journalism. Accurate and fact-based reporting
became popular again around the time of World War II, when the restrained style of writing
gained resurgence.
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Newspapers played a large role in the development of freedom of expression. Inside

sources with the ability to 'leak' stories to the press often choose newspapers first over any other
medium due to the perceived willingness of their editors to expose corruption and lies among
otherwise respected institutions.
Magazines, on the other hand, are publications containing a variety of articles that are
generally published on a regular schedule, whether it be weekly, monthly or quarterly. They
usually take a much more relaxed format than newspapers, with a more informal style to their
writing. They are also usually focused on a particular subject or area of interest, whereas
newspaper articles can cover almost any topic. First published in 1731 in London, The
Gentleman's Magazine is considered the first general-interest magazine. Its editor, Edward Cave
(who wrote under the pseudonym 'Sylvanus Urban') was one of the very firsts to use the term
'magazine'.
Television news journalism, including radio, is known as news broadcasting and is
produced locally in a newsroom or by a broadcast network. It sometimes also includes such
additional material as sports coverage, weather forecasts, traffic reports, commentary, and other
material that the broadcaster considers relevant to the intended audience. Most major television
channels offer regular news broadcasts throughout the day.
Internet communications have excelled in the last decade or so, of course, taking the way
news is published with it. There are now an uncountable digitized number of reputable and not-
so-reputable sources of information on the internet. Everything from digitized versions of the
very newspapers that headed up the first print media movements hundreds of year ago, to
independent bloggers reporting their own stories from the comfort of their own laptops. Because
of this, opinions are much easier to come by, and users can seek out the same story from multiple
sources to get more of a balanced view more than they ever could in the past.
These make the scope of journalism to be very broad indeed, as almost every form of
media these days can be used as an expression of opinion or conduit of information.
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Journalism versus Literature
All journalistic ventures are grounded on facts, on truth and on actuality. Redundant as it
may, facts are the foundation of all the ambits of journalism.
Journalism, and literature are both forms of writing, consumed by the public and have
relative style. They may be guided by set rules. Literature is based on the wandering imagination
of a writer. It is categorized into prose and poetry. Journalism, on the other hand, has main genres
that include news, editorial and features. Journalistic genres follow the strict method of dividing
ideas through paragraphs while literature has a variety of forms and styles.
Tenets of Journalism
Going into the road of journalism entails not only knowledge but also responsibilities.
Hence, their journalists are bound by strict guidelines. Journalists have rights, but they must bear
on shoulders the duties to serve the interest of the public.
1. Responsibility. Journalists should always be aware of their obligations to their readers
to write the truth whatever it costs. For this reason, journalists must be brave enough to defend
facts and the truth behind the news. In this sense, the journalists' main responsibility is to be the
transmitter of veracity in any issue, and that they are liable not to the company but to the public.
2. Freedom of the Press. As a basic right, freedom of the press should be safeguarded by
the people of media. In this case, any topic under the sweltering heat of the sun may be written
so long as there is no infraction to the existing laws of the land.
3. Independence. Putting forward the life of one or two persons by slashing the welfare
of the general public is a clear violation of this tenet. It, therefore, means that the services of a
journalist should be committed to the interest of the general public and not driven by the interest
of money called "envelopmental journalism."
4. Objectivity, Truthfulness and Accuracy. Checking the veracity of data and information
before they are published is an example of being accurate and truthful. Since facts are the solid
foundation of journalism, media men should not therefore conceal the truth by fabricating facts
and by publishing misquoted statements and erroneous statistics.
Objectivity, on the other hand, is simply avoiding conflicts of interest on the treatment of
the articles and on the way arguments and news are written.
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Partisan news and biased interviews violate the ideals of journalism; ergo, a journalist
should know the difference between news and opinion. Readers and journalists alike, believe
that newspapers should be objective. Thus, reporters receive training from those who know
journalistic rules, and learn to resolve whatever conflict they may have.
Teel and Taylor (1983), as cited by Pangilinan (2012), suggested guidelines to attain a
balanced story whenever journalists face controversial issues.
a. Stick to the facts.
b. Never insert your personal opinion.
c. Be discreet in the use of adjectives.
d. Avoid cheap shots.
e. Somebody with something to say deserves a forum.
f. Assess your alliances.
g. Remember that you are an observer, not a participant.
h. Listen to your editor.
5. Fairness. The whole point in advocating objectivity is to be fair in presenting
information in any journalistic field. Remember, the public will see the topic according to the way
journalists present it; hence, reporters should exercise telling the truth and putting the
information in the right perspective.
In this vein, journalists should always present both sides of the coin, both sides of the
argument, both sides of controversial issues. They should set both avenues for the opposing
parties to ventilate their arguments and points of clarification. With this in mind, journalists, too,
must respect the privacy of individuals, unless, there is a warrant of a public right. In case there
is a mistake, true journalists should rectify the said error, thus the errata in newspapers.
Killers of Balanced Reporting

There are worthy concepts that novice journalists must be wary about. Concepts that kill
balanced reporting must be avoided.
1. Yellow Journalism. This is simply sensationalizing a story or an issue. It is a type of
journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-
catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news
events, scandal-mongering or sensationalism. Most showbiz stories are grounded on this type of
journalism which appeals to the curiosity of the readers and viewers.
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2. New Journalism. The new journalists expanded the definition of journalism and of
legitimate journalistic reporting and writing techniques. They also associated journalism with
fiction when they described their work with phrases such as "nonfiction novel" and "narrative
techniques of fiction." In so doing, they ignited a debate over how much like a novel or short
story a journalistic piece could be before it began violating journalism's commitment to truth and
facts. This approach represents a return to the roots of social reporting which was used in Charles
Dickens' fiction.
3. Advocacy Journalism. This is a genre of journalism that, unlike propaganda, is fact-
based but supports a specific point of view on an issue. Advocacy journalists are expected to
focus on stories dealing with corporate business practices, government policies, political
corruption and social issues. Arguably, advocacy journalists serve the public interest in a way
similar to muckrakers or whistle blowers. Most advocacy journalists reject the supposed
objectivity of the mainstream press as a practical impossibility, and some others take the position
that the economic censorship exerted by corporate sponsors 1s no different from political
censorship.
4. Stylistic Journalism. It emphasizes imaginative, stylized writing of stories and considers
newspapers as "the literature of immediate fact."
5. Editorializing. This is giving the reporter's opinion rather than the fact. It may also mean
the expanding of news about an insignificant happening to give publicity to a subject.
Functions and Duties of the Press

If you have fully made up your mind to go into the path of journalism and the media, you
have to be acquainted with your vast roles and primordial functions.
1. The quality of the newspaper must be reflected in the editorial policy. It is more than
just a business because it also reflects and influences the life of the whole academic
community.
2. Newspapers must have integrity and readers' confidence.
3. Newspapers may educate, stimulate, assist or entertain. It is therefore a moral
responsibility to balance public interest and the gains.
4. The fundamental quality of the newspaper rests on the quality of the content and the
kind of editorial product. It is responsible for the rise of the readers' educational level
and resurgence of an articulate, active young generation.
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5. Freedom of the press encompasses responsibility of the newspapers. Freedom of the

press and responsibility are inseparable. Responsibility of the press means truth in the
news — truth tempered with mercy, decency and humility.
6. The press must practice the principles of journalism without bias and self-interest.
Limitations of the Press

Pulitzer prize-winning author David Broeder (USA Today, Aug. 12, 1987) as cited by
Pangilinan (2012), averred that reports are flawed. Hence, reports are not that complete and may
bear mistakes. The limitations of the press may be traced upon the timeframe within which an
article should be submitted for publication. Remember that journalism secures the freshness of
the information. Therefore, when a journalist is in a hurry to beat the deadline, he may not have
enough time to reach all the sources of information. Subsequently, reporters will be unable to
present the story in as many perspectives as a journalist should showcase.
This implies that readers or the information-consuming public should judge very critically
the articles, the reports, including the photos. Readers should know how to ask questions that
are left unanswered, in the same manner when journalists dig for facts and additional
information.
Another limitation of the press is its proneness to be manipulated by the powerful, the
elite and the politicians. Broeder (1987) as cited by Pangilinan (2012) pointed "...every good
politician will attempt to work well with the press. If you live in a country where public opinion
ultimately decides public policy, any politician who is at all serious is going to try to manage public
opinion, and that means working with the press. So, they all do it."

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COLEGIO DE DAGUPAN

SCHOOL OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Scope and Nature of Journalism

Newspapers played a large role in the development of freedom of expression. Inside

Journalism versus Literature

Killers of Balanced Reporting

Functions and Duties of the Press

5. Freedom of the press encompasses responsibility of the newspapers. Freedom of the

Limitations of the Press

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