What is Journalism?

·         Journalism is an activity or profession of writing for newspapers or magazines or broadcasting news on radio or television or internet.

·         Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened, but that they might not have known about already.

·         People who write journalism are called “journalists.” They might work at newspapers, magazines, web site or for TV or radio stations.

·         The most important characteristic shared by good journalists is curiosity.

·         Good journalists love to read and want to find out as much as they can about the world around them.

·         Journalism is a method of inquiry and literary style used in social and cultural representation. It serves the purpose of playing the role of public service machinery in the dissemination and analysis of news and information.

Journalism comes in several different forms:

I. News

A. Breaking news: Telling about an event as it happens.

B. Feature stories: A detailed look at something interesting that's not breaking news.

C. Enterprise or Investigative stories: Stories that uncover information that few people knew.

II. Opinion

A. Editorials: Unsigned articles that express a publication's opinion.

B. Columns: Signed articles that express the writer's reporting and his conclusions.

C. Reviews: Such as concert, restaurant or movie reviews.

Online journalism also comes in the forms listed above:

● Blogs: Online diaries kept by individuals or small groups.

● Discussion boards: Online question and answer pages where anyone can     

   participate.

● Wikis: Articles that any reader can add to or change.

The best journalism is easy to read and just sounds like a nice, smart person telling you something interesting.

There are several different forms of journalism, all with diverse audiences. In modern society, "prestige" journalism is said to serve the role of a "fourth estate", acting as a watchdog on the workings of the government. Other forms of journalism feature in different formats and cater to different audiences.

Some forms include:

·         Advocacy journalism – writing to advocate particular viewpoints or influence the opinions of the audience.

·         Broadcast journalism – written or spoken journalism for radio or television.

·         Drone journalism – use of drones to capture journalistic footage.

·         Investigative journalism: the use of investigation on a subject matter while uncovering news events.

·         Photo journalism: the telling of a story through its images.

·         Tabloid journalism – writing that is light-hearted and entertaining.

·         Yellow journalism (or sensationalism) – writing which emphasizes exaggerated claims or rumours.

The recent rise of social media has resulted in arguments to reconsider journalism as a process rather than attributing it to particular news products. From this perspective, journalism is participatory, a process distributed among multiple authors and involving journalists as well as the socially mediating public.

Writing for good journalism

Here are the keys to writing good journalism:

● Get the facts, as many as you can.

● Tell your readers where you got every bit of information you put in your story.

● Be honest about what you do not know.

● Don't try to write fancy.

● Keep it clear.

Start your story with the most important thing that happened in your story. This is called your “lead.” It should summarize the whole story in one sentence. From there, add details that explain or illustrate what's going on. You might need to start with some background or to “set the scene” with details of your observation. Again, write the story like you were telling it to a friend. Start with what's most important then add background or details as needed. When you write journalism, your paragraphs will be shorter than you are used to in classroom writing. Each time you introduce a new source, you will start a new paragraph. Each time you bring up a new point, you will start a new paragraph. Again, be sure that you tell the source for each bit of information you add to the story.

Whenever you quote someone's exact words, you will put them within quotation marks and provide “attribution” at the end of the quote.

Sometimes, you can “paraphrase” what a source says. That means that you do not use the sources exact words, but reword it to make it shorter, or easier to understand. You do not use quote marks around a paraphrase, but you still need to write who said it.

Journalistic integrity is based on the principles of truth, accuracy and factual knowledge.

Journalistic mediums can vary diversely, from print publishing to electronic broadcasting and from newspaper to television channels, as well as to the web, and to digital technology.

In modern society, the news media is the chief source of information and opinion about public affairs.

Journalism, however, is not always confined to the news media or to news itself, as journalistic communication may find its way into broader forms of expression, including literature and cinema.

In a democratic society, however, access to free information plays a central role in creating a system of checks and balance, and in distributing power equally between governments, businesses, individuals, and other social entities.

Access to verifiable information gathered by independent media sources, which adhere to journalistic standards, can also be of service to ordinary citizens, by empowering them with the tools they need in order to participate in the political process.