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Introduction to Journalism INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM 1 UNIT 1-JOURNALISM Structure 1.0 Unit Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Meaning and Definition of Journalism 1.3 History of Journalism 1.4 Role of Journalism 1.5 Glossary of Terms used in Journalism 1.6 Summary 1.7 Exercises and Questions 1.8 Further Reading 1.0 UNIT OBJECTIVES • To understand the meaning of Journalism • To discuss the terms and definitions of Journalism • To study the role of Journalism • To trace the history of Journalism 1.1 INTRODUCTION Journalism as a craft, a profession and even as a trade or business is over two centuries old. It was made possible by the coming together of a number of technologies as well as several social, political and economic developments. The main technologies that facilitated the development of large-scale printing and distribution of print material were the printing press. 2 1.2 MEANING AND DEFINITION OF JOURNALISM Journalism is a form of communication based on asking, and answering, the questions Who? What? How? Where? When? Why? Journalism is anything that contributes in some way in gathering, selection, processing of news and current affairs for the press, radio, television, film, cable, internet, etc. 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 defined by Denis Mc Quail as ‘ paid writing for public media with reference to actual and ongoing events of public relevance’. Journalism can also be defined as: 1. The collection and editing of news for presentation through the media 2. The public press 3. An academic study concerned with the collection and editing of news or the management of a news medium 4. Writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation 5. Writing designed to appeal to current popular taste or public interest The words ‘journalist’, ‘journal’ and ‘journalism’ are derived from the French ‘journal’ which in its turn comes from the Latin term ‘diurnal is’ or ‘daily’. The Acta Diurna, a handwritten bulletin put up daily in the Forum, the main public square in ancient Rome, was perhaps the world’s first newspaper. Later, pamphlets, gazettes, news books, news sheets, letters came to be termed as ‘news paper’. Those who wrote for them were first called news writers and later journalists. Thus, Journalism can be one of the most exciting jobs around. One goes into work not necessarily knowing what you are going to be doing that day. Journalists get to meet powerful people, interesting people, inspiring people, heroes, villains and celebrities. The chance to know something and to tell the world about it is exciting. One also gets chance to indulge a passion for writing and the opportunity to seek the truth and campaign for justice. And then there’s the excitement of seeing your 3 byline in print, watching your report on television, or hearing your words of wisdom on the radio. As a craft Journalism involves specialization in one area (editorial, design, printing) for the reporters and the sub-editors for instance, it entails writing to a deadline, following routines in a conveyor-belt like workplace, while respecting the divisions of labour in the newsroom and the printing press. In earlier times, knowledge of typewriting and shorthand were the main skills demanded. But today, computing and DTP skills are in demand for all areas of Journalism. As a profession, it is markedly different from other established professions like medicine, law, management or teaching. While the established professions require some specialized educational qualifications and training to be recruited to them, Journalism does not make any such requirement essential. There is no bar to anyone entering the profession, no matter what one’s educational background or professional experience is. From the very beginning, Journalism has been, and still, remain an ‘open’ profession. Also, journalism has no distinct body of knowledge that defines the profession and marks its relationship with its clients (readers, advertisers, advertising agencies, public relations officials, others). Journalism is a specific approach to reality. However, there is no consensus in the journalist community on this, nor is there any universally code of conduct or code of ethics, and where it does exist, is rarely enforced. Opinions vary on whether journalism is a ‘calling’ public service, an entertainment, a cultural industry motivated by profit, or a tool for propaganda, public relations and advertising. Journalism can be a combination of all these, or each of these separately. Opinions are not so varied about the other professions. As a business and trade, Journalism involves publishing on a regular basis for profit, with news considered as the primary product. Hence, there is the need to attract advertisers and readers, through marketing strategies, which focus on circulation and readership. CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Q1.Define ‘Journalism’? Q2.How is Journalism different from other professions? 4 1.3 HISTORY OF JOURNALISM The history of Journalism, or the gathering and transmitting of news, spans the growth of technology and trade, marked by the advent of specialized techniques for gathering and disseminating information on a regular basis that has caused, the steady increase of "the scope of news available to us and the speed with which it is transmitted." Some relatively recent craze, stimulated by the arrival of satellites, television or even the newspaper, the good news is that the frenzied, obsessive exchange of news is one of the oldest human activities. In early times, messengers were appointed to bring word, carriers to proclaim it and busybodies to spread the word. The need to know helped attract people to crossroads, campfires and market places. It helped motivate journeyers; it helps explain the reception accorded travelers. In most parts of the pre-literate world the first question asked of a traveler was, as it was in Outer Mongolia in 1921, "What's new?" These preliterate peoples were probably better informed about events in their immediate neighborhood than are most modern, urban or suburban Americans. A similar fascination with news was evident in the Greek and later in the Roman Forum, where to the hubbub of spoken news was added information from daily handwritten newssheets, first posted by Julius Caesar. The bad news is that two of the subjects humans have most wanted to keep up with throughout the ages are –sex and violence. The Nootka of Vancouver Island, for example, would exchange plenty of important news on fishing, on the chief's activities, on plans for war. But they also pricked up their ears at word that someone was having an affair. And the tale of a suitor who tumbled into a barrel of rainwater while sneaking out the window of his lover's house "spread," according to an anthropologist, "like wildfire up and down the coast." There is more bad news. The golden age of political coverage that journalism critics pine over – the era when reporters concentrated on the "real" issues-turns out to have been as mythical as the golden age of politics. In those rare historical moments when politicians deigned to face major problems to allow journalists to 5 comment on them, those comments tended to be wildly subjective, as when the founders of our free press called their pro-British compatriots "diabolical Tools of Tyrants" and "men totally abandoned to wickedness." Samuel Johnson, writing in an era when thinkers like Joseph Addison, Daniel Defoe and Jonathon Swift dominated British periodicals, concluded that the press "affords sufficient information to elate vanity, and stiffen obstinacy, but too little to enlarge the mind." Yet, journalism had changed. And much doesn't change. It is foolish to pretend that sensationalism and superficiality could simply be expunged from the news. Nevertheless, we can still protest when the news gets too irrelevant, too shallow. We can better educate audiences about its limitations and encourage viewers to change the channel. The desire to keep up with the news seems basic to our species, but that does not mean that in learning about the world we have to limit ourselves to just satisfying that desire. Prehistoric, ancient and Midieval periods Early methods of transmitting news began with word of mouth, which limited its content to what people saw and relayed to others; accuracy in new depended on the scope of the event being described and its relevance to the listener. Ancient monarchial governments developed ways of relaying written reports, includinng the Roman Empire from Julius Caeser onward, which recorded and distributed a daily record of political news and acts to Roman colonies. After the empire collapsed, news dissemination depended on travelers' tales, songs and ballads, letters, and governmental dispatches. Rennaissance and the printing press The invention of the movable type printing press, attributed to Johann Gutennberg in 1456, led to the wide dissemination of the Bible and other printed books. The first newspapers appeared in Europe in the 17th Century. The first printed periodical was the Mercurius Gallobelgicus, first appearing in Cologne, now Germany, in 1592; it consisted of Latin text, was printed semi-annually and distributed in book fairs. The first regularly published newspaper was the Oxford Gazette, first appearing in 1665, which began while the British royal court was in Oxford to avoid the plague in London and was published twice a week. When the court moved back to 6 London, the publication moved with it. An earlier newsbook, the Continuation of Our Weekly News, had been published regularly in London since 1623. The first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, appeared in 1702 and continued publication for more than 30 years. Its first editor was also the first woman in journalism, although she was replaced after only a couple of weeks.
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