Student Zone

In the book "Elements," Bill Kovich and Tom Rosenstiel state that the "primary purpose for journalism is toprovide citizens with the information they need to become self-governing" (P.19). Through truth, loyalty to the readers and verification, this can be done.

Truth is the number one principal because by giving the reader the truth a sense of security in free press is maintained.

Though a journalist is employed by a company, the journalist number one priority is working for the reader/citiz

The introduction and first four chapters of “ The Elements of Journalism” opened up my eyes to the world of journalism. Up until taking this class and reading this book, I never took journalism into consideration in my daily life. After reading the beginning of this book, I now realize that I never placed much importance on journalism and didn’t realize the impact that journalism had on my life. I know what I know mostly from the media. If I were afraid of the CTA shutting down some of their services, I would look to the news or newspaper to find answers. I never thought much of it because news is so readily available. The news is so easy to access that we take it for granted.

One point I enjoyed in the book was when some tried to give an exact definition to journalism. I enjoyed that because someone didn’t want to give an exact definition because it would limit the functions of journalism. If journalism were given an exact definition, it would also limit journalism from ever expanding.

The main idea given in the book is that journalism, and a journalist’s priority is to seek and distribute the truth. Now although there may be different opinions or views of the truth, certain truths are undeniable and concrete such as scores of basketball teams’ games.

Overall, this book seems very interesting. It has already opened my eyes to the world of journalism and I can’t wait to keep on reading it and gaining more knowledge from every page I read.

The Elements of Journalism gives the reader a basic understanding of what the rules to becoming a good journalist are. In the first four chapters, Kovach and Rosenstiel mention that a journalist must know how essential it is to tell the “truth,” who journalists must work for, and the importance of the verification of what journalists are telling their readers. Truth in journalism is supposed to be the base of that form of communication, that being that without truth what is being reported to the citizens can turn into a tool that can be used by them to distrust and become alienated from all sorts of journalism. Journalists are seen as men working for a company that owns every news source possible in the country, but what many citizens do not realize is that the journalists’ real bosses are those who turn on the TV and open the newspaper every morning to get the news. This being that a journalist must never put the interest of those who handle money where he or she works at before that interest of the citizen. Citizens must always be considered the number one priority to get the job done right. As for verification, people in journalism that tend to get everything right are those that work on their own not thinking what others might do different or in the same way and those who follow the basic rules of sourcing and fact checking before making any assumptions. Those who only want to make and print stories not to get beaten in who gets the story out there first and to get more money, will always get everything the wrong way and will lose credibility.

Journalism has become throughout the ages an essential element that provides news as the “material that people use to learn and think about the world beyond themselves” (Kovach and Rosenstiel 38). At the beginning of the book, Kovach and Rosenstiel tell the reader that even in the most rigid societies, where people are sentenced to know only what their government wants them to know, the need to know what goes on in other parts of the world is greater than the fear of being imprisoned. People in Poland placing televisions in front of the windows with the screens pointing out to the streets showing the how much tired they were and how they were trying to show the rejection of the version of the so called truth given by the government. Of course, this was not a case in all societies in the world; many of the democratic based governments, such as the United States, have always recognized the importance of preserving and enforcing the right of the citizens to have the right of free speech in a society.

Benjamin Akol
News and reporting
Date/2/03/05
Respond to elements of journalism.
The element of journalism is a great book, which give me more detail of journalism. It’s explained journalism based on our values, democratic and perfect ways of how journalists should give accurate information to the public. As I read chapter one to four, I feel afraid, stress and convinced that journalism is a tough job to do in any community. Because of it focuses for truth-values and expression for thoughts and feeling, journalism need free of press for accurate information. As mention in the first elements of journalism that, “journalism need to be free and self-governing,” journalist should be loyal and obligate to give accurate information. For my understanding in this book, there is a huge task based on the principles, truth-values, economic, politic that need journalist to be freed to express accurate information of news to the public. Journalism nowadays is connected to economic and many ad for business and entertainment which truth-values of journalism are affected.
In my point of view, as I read chapter one to four, I agreed with all elements of journalism because they are truly about values and democratic way of ruling in every nation. It is appropriated to journalist to apply all the elements of journalism. Journalism is about people and it is completely about life for society. People want to know what is going on around them, what happen today, and how will it be, and many others like sport, war, discoveries are going on. Based on all the elements of journalism, I’m convinced because journalism is a human being job that need perfect supply of news to the public. Therefore, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel who copyright this book about journalism entirely explained shortly in detail and deeply about truth.

Chris Saylor

In The Elements of Journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel make an attempt at defining nine abstractions that haunt modern journalists and active citizens. These nine elements find their roots in the original philosophies tied to the need for a free press and, more importantly, in the quickly evolving backdrop of worldwide entertainment “news”. In an American decade when the freest press in the world is at the whims of profit and consumerism, Kovach and Rosenstiel are asking the right questions.
The first chapter is devoted to the modern and timeless purposes of journalism. The authors quickly move past the idea that journalism is meant to inform and go on to tackle a free press’ obligation in upholding democracy. After juxtaposing Walter Lippmann’s and John Dewey’s ideas about the role of journalism in democracy, Kovach and Rosenstiel make little clear on the matter other than how unresolved it is. Beyond simply raising questions, however, they also suggest an approach to solving this riddle: “Doing so begins with identifying what the purpose (of journalism) is.” (p. 33) While this does little to answer their headlining question, it supplies a nice lead-in to their explanations of the nine elements.

According to the authors, truth is the first principle of journalism because citizens need information in order to be sovereign. They also claim that, “Fairness is too abstract and in the end, more subjective than truth.” (p. 46) Thus, since truth can be verified, it should be the basis for good journalism. Their discounting of the hierarchy of truth withheld by ancient philosophers is a little unsettling, however, since they only seem to be able to dismiss the philosophers by accusing them of being fascists. “The goal of the medieval thinkers was not enlightenment so much as control.” (p. 38) Although seemingly outdated, the pursuit for a higher truth (yes, even by journalists) does not seem altogether unwarranted.

In the third chapter, Kovach and Rosenstiel address who a journalist does and should work for. They keep consistent their problems with corporate media control by thoroughly explaining the reasons why a journalist’s audience has become his or her employer. One of the many vague purposes of journalism as defined by the first chapter is its necessity to uphold a democracy through freeing its citizens. But a more modern take on upholding democracy by regaining trust from the citizens. “To reconnect people with news… journalism must reestablish the allegiance to citizens that the news industry has mistakenly helped to subvert.” The authors shine on this point and find an ingenious way of applying the question of who journalists work for to the salvation (or resurrection) of our fading democracy.

In consideration of verification and its role in modern journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel expound on the idea that regaining the trust of the people will result in a journalism that is truthfully challenging issues and avidly challenged by citizens. This social check/balance needs to have the citizenry as a participant, however, and verification will ensure that citizens will be able to trust their journalists enough to criticize them. Truth cannot exist without verification since each is a result of the other. By religiously verifying facts and displaying these verifications to the public, the authors hope that journalists will give citizens a reason to trust them, a consequent reason to read their work, and an ultimate understanding of their own democracy.

Jafar Casurella
English 151: News Reporting and Writing
Response Chapters 1-4 / The Elements of Journalism

Throughout the history of mankind, humans have craved information about the world they inhabit. Some want news out of curiosity, some desire a broader understanding for future planning, while others rely on the news for a sense of security- A knowledge which is in "keeping up with the times" opens their eyes to whatever dangers they may face, both as individuals, and as individuals as members of a society. Two writers, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel cover this human desire of information in this 2001 edition of The Elements of Journalism, and also cover some other ideas such the birth of journalism, the responsibilities of the reporter to the people that they serve, and also how big business is changing how news reporters (and their producers) have changed how they serve the public.

First of all, what is the truth to a reporter? In journalism, the truth has many forms. To most people, the truth comes out when the facts are displayed without an opinion. Naturally, some may say, the truth is something that cannot be altered without distorting the facts that were involved in the event. Here, the writers briefly touch on this concept of the truth, "Truth, it seems, is too complicated for us to pursue. Or perhaps it does not even exist, since we are all subjective individuals." Everyone has opinions and sometimes these opinions distort the message that a writer displays about a story, and sometimes the reader themselves lets their own opinion sway how they view a concept as well! Intentionally or by an honest mistake, we all fall victim to hearing what it is that we want to hear especially if it threatens the way that we choose to perceive the world.

Today, business and marketing govern what is newsworthy information. Companies like Time-Warner and Disney all have a vested interest in what the public recieves as knowledge though the media. This is a simple fact threatens the very framework in which this country stands. Having a democracy enables us as a people to make informed decisions about how we live our lives, and to whom we respect as leaders, heroes, and of who we judge as being of a criminal design. This notion that the same people that entertain, now are also correcting and revising actual stories that happen in order to groom the public into believing that the world they live in is a safe environment to spend a vast amount of resources, even though we may not receiving the whole story. The "functional truth" involves creating a message that works with the morals and values that we as a people hold today. It distorts our images of how our nation is viewed to the world as well, and this should be an area of concern for all of those who value being a part of what it means to actually be an American.

So whether you pick up this edition of The Elements of Journalism because you are interested in becoming a professional non-fiction writer, or you are interested in "what the pros think", I suggest this reading for anyone who desires to know what it means to be a journalist today. The work is written without a lot of technical jargon and the concepts can be easily understood by anyone without a strong background in writing. I believe that reading this material and following the suggestions stated will undoubtedly convey to your own readers that you respect the element of truth in your writing and have a keen sense of what a reporter has a responsibility to do: To state unbiased facts to the public and give them the information that they need to make informed decisions for themselves.

The sole reason for the inception of journalism has been to communicate information that seemed valid for the people (the public) to acknowledge. This idea, in essence, is the earliest idea of democracy and the First Amendment. This whole idea began in the colonies in N. America when people began to challenge the ruling from the King of England. Printer John Peter Zenger was put to trial in 1735 for voicing his opinion about the royal governor of New York. Zenger was acquitted when his defense was traced back to the writing’s of Cato during the 1720’s that voiced the origins of free speech and press in the colonies.
Truth is always the first principle because of journalism’s purpose to serve the citizens of the world everywhere with reality. Human beings have the right to accurate information in order to formulate their own opinions about their society (i.e. government, free markets, and access to any/all information). When it is broken down, journalists work for the people of their public and, now, with the rise of new technologies such as the World Wide Web and globalization, the world. Truth becomes truth through verification. Without the act of verifying information, the truth would become nothing more than a statement the world immediately accepts as fact and that would become the start of the downfall of democracy and journalism as we know it.

SUMMARY: The first four chapters of Elements of Journalism discuss the historic and philosophic aspects of American journalism as it relates to democracy. The author's discuss these philosophical concepts as they apply to journalists on a daily basis. Because journalism arises out of people's strong need to know what is going ("awareness instinct") and is strongly intertwined with public opinion, freedom of the press, and self-governance, journalists have an obligation to the pursuit of truth and loyalty to the citizen. . Throughout the chapters, Kovach and Rosenstiel provide recommendations and insight about the strategies and techniques for striving toward the purpose, obligations, and professional creed of journalism. The authors describe and discuss guideposts for journalists and editors of honesty, accuracy, and skepticism as tools to reach "functional truth in the science of reporting.

Throughout the chapters, the authors describe the climate in which journalists work and the outside pressures that may work against their goals and purpose. Globalization, corporate conglomeration, and the rise of internet communications have changed the climate for reporters and citizens alike. Other types of communications do not have the same responsibility to the citizens to which journalists ascribe. The process of verification separates journalism from other forms of communication. With technology, citizens are under an influx of information. Citizens are seeking a broader picture that is not only true in detail, but complete in context. Kovach and Rosenstiel advise the press to focus on weeding out extraneous information to get to the truth of a story and why it has meaning for the readers. Corporate conglomerates have varying obligations, motives, influences, and interests that impact news organizations and therefore, journalists. News organizations have pressures to treat the reader as a customer, instead of as a citizen. These outside interests have given rise to a "credibility crisis."
The authors recommend how owners/corporations and business managers can and should put citizens first in spite of outside pressures to do otherwise. Setting and communicating clear standards of the "journalistic mission" to the public and making it clear that journalists have the final say over the news will repair the allegiance of the press to the citizens.

RESPONSE: I think the authors provide a clear understanding of the development and challenges of journalism. They describe the pressures on news organizations quite accurately. I think they have an idealistic notion of how things should work, which is not either bad or good. Just somewhat unrealistic. But in order to avoid rampant mediocrity, it is important to be idealistic and to set goals. These standards may not always be met in every case, but they are key to keeping the public trust. I felt like I got a very good foundation for the basics of journalism.

One thing I felt they did not address sufficiently enough was the 24-hour media beast and how it is fed. Additionally, the authors did not address the fact that many news organization do not have as many full-time staff journalists as they once had and fill in with freelance journalists. What is the impact of not treating journalists as they should with benefits and better salaries? Perhaps the authors will address these questions in later chapters.

Journalism is an element of freedom and democracy in the United States. Its mission is the write and report to the public about government and local news. Kovach and Rosenstiel states that journalism provides citizens information to be free and self-governing.

The Elements of Journalism by Kovach and Rosenstiel explains that the purpose of journalism is to tell the truth. Although stating the truth is easy to say, the action of telling the truth in media has become rather hard. Through out the years the truth has become more difficult. Society has changed so much to the point that what was once interesting and considered news worthy is now controlled by businesses.

Journalists is first loyalty is to the public but conglomeration plays a big role on the ownership of the media, for example, Disney owns ABC News. ABC News cannot report Disney issues. Media has lost its identity and is restricted from news that will affect the citizens. Conglomeration is one way in which the truth is harder to tell because they can control what can be said.

The fundamentals of journalism includes many a variety of elements. In the elements of journalism Kovach and Rosenstiel explains the purpose of the world of journalism. We are exposed to the world of journalism of the first three elements that are the foundation of the journalism. The elements that lead to purpose of journalism include truth, the loyalty to the readers, and verification. Journalism has to be accurate and reliable. It has to draw in audiences and to draw the growing numbers in audience members. We can achieve this goal by fulfilling these basics of journalism to create a free press for such a demanding audience. The news needs to have a “free flow of information” because of the changing events and issues of the rest of the world. If the citizens can have this information they feel like they are a part of a democracy that can allow them to have this free press. Journalism provides the timeliness of the stories that are told. The truth allows the press to build up the sense of security. We can feel that the media will never lie to their readers. If they were one can feel a sense of insecurity to the credibility and validity of the stories. They have the ability to control the truthfulness of the news. Journalism has to keep a loyal number to their readers. They have to attract and appeal to customers as well as their budget. They have to market from the advertising space. In conjunction with the truth they journalists have to uphold their accuracy. Some journalist would get their information from credible sources. Journalism has to contain truth in order to run a successful story. By the order of clarification can make for great journalism by getting the facts and authenticating the story makes a piece a more stronger and truer to the account.

Owen Gallalee
News Reporting & Writing 151
2/8/05
Online Assignment #1

In the Elements of Journalism, Introduction & Chapters 1-4, the purpose of journalism is defined, and the basic and essential principles needed to be a good journalist are outlined. The book discusses, in depth, the first obligation of a good journalist. It also covers who a good journalist's first loyalty is to, and analyzes the essence of journalism.
According to Elements of Journalism, “ the primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self governing.” Journalism provides citizens with knowledge of what is going on in the world beyond their direct experience. This allows citizens to plan and negotiate their lives. Giving them the ability to hear about a traffic jam, and take a different route instead; or see how their favorite sports team did in their game. A journalist's job is to report the facts of a case and give meaning to it.
Thus, the first principle and obligation of journalism is to the truth. The main goal of journalism is to present a practical or functional form of the truth, and this principle is what makes journalism different from all other forms of communication. Without truth, journalism is merely fiction. If a journalist is just telling people what they want to hear because he doesn't think they can handle the truth or because he has an allegiance to someone other than his viewer he is going against who every good journalist's first loyalty should be to, the citizen.
A journalist's first loyalty is to the people they are reporting to, the citizens. Literally, journalists work for whichever company they are employed by, but they really do their work for the people, because that's who is listening to them everyday to find out what's going on in the world that they need to know about. Journalists' first loyalty has to be to their viewer rather than their advertisers or their friends. This is to ensure that the story the people are getting is straight and not biased in any way.
A journalist gets a story out to the citizen through the process of verification. This process is the essence of journalism. The process of verification also separates journalism from other forms of communication. This is tied in to the first principle of journalism because journalists are going through this process of verification in order to get to the truth. Journalists have to make sure that their facts are straight and true, and that there isn't anything important they missed or overlooked in reporting a story. How this is done is mostly personal to a journalist, and it is done to make sure that all angles of a story are being covered and that the story has credibility.
The principles of journalism are very ideal, but might be a little hard to follow when a journalist is facing a bottom line of how much money the company will make, which will determine his salary, and may lead him to embellish or even make up a few key details. These principles seem to quickly be fading within mainstream media as seen by journalists faking stories which leads to the question: How much of what we hear in the news is the 100% truth? I believe this is what prompted the writers of The Elements of Journalism to write this book because they saw the growing distrust of the public to the media.

Deirdre Merriman
English 151
Assignment#1

In their book The Elements of Journalism (Three Rivers Press, New York, 2001) Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel intend to clarify and definitively explain the elements of journalism. In order for people to be free and self governing journalists must provide the public with the information it needs to be so.

The purpose of journalism is to fill a basic need in society. In order to reduce a sense of isolation and have stimulation for new ideas people and communities need to hear about each other. By learning about things outside their realm people join together and are empowered. A common ground in awareness, community, and purpose is achieved by good journalism. It is through common experience that society, as a whole, moves forward. Without journalists and an objective news base this could not happen.

Kovach and Rosenstiel go on to say that while truth is the first principle of journalism it is also the most confusing. There is no doubt that getting the facts right is paramount. Unfortunately the truth is not always evident and the truth can be open to interpretation hence the need for verification. There are times when fiction appears to become fact as in the example on pages 39/40. Many facts are indisputable as in the score at a basketball game. Others require research, digging, and verification. Truth in journalism is not a simple recitation of initial facts. The public requires the initial story as the event occurs but as new evidence comes to light the story must be retold.

Big business and conglomerates now have a lot of control over the news media. Do these corporations serve their business interests or the public first? The business side of the news delivery process must be clear in its intent and put the public first. Standards must be set universally and made known to all, including the public. Since all news goes through the newsroom it should have the final say.

Journalism differs from other public media in that it does not purport to be true. Of its nature it must be so. In order to achieve that truth verification is absolutely essential. This is not necessary solely to relay a true story but also to ensure, for the journalist, that the facts are facts and not a personal interpretation of them. Embellishment, inaccuracy, questionable methods and reliance on others can cloud the issue. Ultimately, the journalist must answer to the public who sees to its existence. Principles should always be placed before personalities and any work done by the journalist should be open to examination by the public and not be found wanting

Stacie Johnson
Eng 151 News Reporting and Writing
Online Assignment #1
2/8/05

According to Elements, Journalism’s primary purpose is to provide citizens with information needed to be free and self-governing. It is an expanded conversation among citizens. It is for building community, citizenship and democracy; helping communities become defined, assists with the birth of common language and knowledge, and goals are identified. Due to the broad levels of public engagement—involved public, interested public and uninterested public—and the three key forces (new technology, globalization, and conglomeration) causing a shifting away from Journalism’s connection to citizen building, it is imperative that those in the Journalism profession, as well as those that rely on the profession, be reminded of the necessity of it. It appears that during the emergence of these changes in our societies and divisions of public involvement, that journalists have become self-serving and malicious. The lines of truth and loyalties have become skewed, and aided the mistrust by citizens of the field.

It is pressed upon the readers that truth in Journalism is a process which becomes the conversation that is Journalism. Accuracy, getting the facts right, is not enough and can become distortion in its own right. Journalistic truth is getting facts straight and making sense of the facts, which is what makes it the first principle in Journalism. Newsmakers get lost in the subject of objectivity, causing for passivity.

Journalists’ loyalties lie with the citizens first and foremost. Regardless of the forces causing Journalism to shift away from the citizens, it is paramount that journalists stay focused on who the work for. In today’s stage of the Journalism profession, loyalties get confusing. There are non-journalistic companies participating in the day-to-day function of the news-making industry through advertising, ownership, marketing, etc., that don’t understand journalism’s main purpose and goal. This causes conflicted demands among business managers, news staff, and the citizens. If owners/corporations and business managers become as committed as journalists are supposed to be, then perhaps citizens would begin to trust journalists and the news again. Demands and expectations would, then, be in proper order, and there would not be a need for total abandonment of journalism truth for any reason.

The discipline of verification is what separates Journalism from other forms of communications and media. However, the rules of the science of reporting and rules of transparency should be followed with fervor and integrity. It is understood that this process of verification is mostly personal, and in most cases not required by editors or educators in journalism. Personally, I don’t see the harm in requiring such rules among newsmakers. A certain level accountability will be required from everyone, including citizens.