38 Journalism Overview

Chapter & Discussion

This chapter includes a presentation that can be navigated in a classroom setting or independently. You can access the presentation via the link below.

Introduction to Journalism

Work through the different sections of the chapter and discuss ideas and topics as they arise. If you’re working independently, take notes instead. Notes and active discussion will be helpful in navigating this week’s assignments.

Overview

Journalism is the process of gathering information about current events, issues, and topics that are relevant to society, verifying facts, and presenting that information accurately and fairly to the people.

• Journalists serve the important roles of:
• Keeping citizens informed
• Holding institutions accountable
• Giving people the factual information they need to make decisions and stay current

Journalists are writers who are trusted to investigate what’s happening in the world and to report the facts to the people.

In This Unit

The goal of this unit is to practice your professional writing skills by exploring fundamentals of news media. Through examining principles of journalism, this course strengthens skills critical for success in any field—conducting thorough research, carrying out engaging interviews, writing clearly, evaluating sources accurately, and presenting information responsibly.

We will analyze elements of impactful stories, discuss ethics and best practices of journalism, and get hands-on practice with reporting tools to build communication confidence. By studying standards around compelling writing, factual credibility, and audience relevance, we’ll practice the process of simplifying complex issues, telling stories powerfully, and sticking to the facts when sharing writing.

Structure

News articles are written in a form called the inverted pyramid structure: where the broadest, most critical information appears first in the article, and less important information follows.

It starts with the lede: a short paragraph conveying the essence of the news event and key details.

The nut graph follows, elaborating background essential to comprehend the news significance.

Supporting facts, statistics, geographic factors, quotes, and additional details narrow as the story progresses down the pyramid. These facts provide evidence for the claims made in the opening.

Ledes and Headlines

The headline of a story appears at the top. Its goal is to share the most important details in a very concise way. Journalists also use headlines to get the attention of the readers. The lede will follow, giving us a more detailed picture of the story.

Together, the headline and the lead give us enough information to understand the story (but with no evidence).

This format (say the thing, then go deeper) is important to all writing. It helps us practice determining what information is most important to the reader, and how to follow up with details.

Plain Language

Journalists try to report the news in clear writing everyone can understand. Here are a few of the rules they follow to do so:

• Avoid fancy words and tangled sentences.
• Write straight-forwardly so all kinds of readers grasp your story accurately.
• Keep it simple but still grab attention.
• Make each detail tell what readers need to know about this event or issue.

Plain writing respects readers’ time and intelligence – it’s helping people understand, not showing off. Clarity, honesty and purpose-driven writing serve journalism best.

Assigned Reading

Here are this week’s readings. Additionally, please read for your own personal enjoyment for 1/2 hour each day. This will be called your “Reading Zone” reading and it will coincide with many upcoming activities.

How to Choose Your News by Damon Brown (via TED Ed)