When we think of journalism what comes to mind? Is it the muckrakers of the past like Jacob Riis or Upton Sinclair who exposed everyday problems? Is it newscasters like Barbara Walters or maybe your local Spectrum writer? Do you think of truth or sensationalism? The first amendment? Do you think of cheesy celebrity exposés? The truth is all of these things should come to mind because Journalism culminates a variety of writing types, genres, and uses an assortment of media.
So what is journalism????
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary Journalism is...
1 a: the collection and editing of news for presentation through the media b: the public press c: an academic study concerned with the collection and editing of news or the management of a news medium2 a: writing designed for publication in a newspaper or magazine b: writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation c: writing designed to appeal to current popular taste or public interest
Generally Journalism has 5 Goals: These are often referred to as the 5 W’s & sometimes include and H as well.
Who? – Who is involved?
What?- What is the situation/event/happening etc.?
When? – When did this occur or will this occur?
Where?- Where did it occur or where will it?
Why?- Why did this happen or is this happening?
How? – How did this happen or how will it happen?
Some mediums include:
Newspapers, Magazine, Books, the Internet, Television, Radio
Many people say that journalism should be based on truth but whether or not this is an accurate statement is debatable.
The current topic I have read about is steroid abuse in sports my sources are as follows:
- Maxim Magazine’s article Steroids: Scourge or Savior?
- CNN.com ‘s Steroids and Sports: A dangerous mix?
Both of these magazines were similar in that they weighed the pros and cons of using anabolic steroids while engaging in sports. Furthermore they explain how this use affects professional sports.
Maxims article is much more colorful and truly illustrates the issue by providing celebrity incite. While they eluded that it is definitely a problem they focus primarily on the fairness issue rather than health. Since Maxim is a men’s magazine that focuses on entertainment this might account for the focus on fairness. CNN’s article touches much more on the health risks concerning steroid use. The online article features a far less attractive format and is rather plain and forth-coming. The online article had many other features; they had a printable format, language change options, as well as links to other similar stories. The online format made it much more interactive and would probably appeal to a larger audience. As far audience is concerned the Maxim article was definitely geared toward a male audience (in fact it failed to mention even one woman). The tone of the online article was very serious and certainly seemed more factual. The print source was comedic and seemed to almost poke-fun rather than seriously inform. In all fairness I really liked the set-up of Maxim’s article because it did offer some good points from prominent sports figures as to whether or not they opposed steroids.
Why internet journalism?
According to Dan Gillmor’s book We the Media one reason the internet has become an increasingly important medium for journalists is because it is important to embrace new technologies as a natural progression into the future where enhanced technology is vital for its survival.
“To understand the evolution of tomorrow’s news, we need to understand the technologies that are making it possible. The tools of tomorrow’s participatory journalism are evolving quickly—so quickly that by the time this book is in print, new ones will have arrived.”
Some other reasons for Internet journalism are
-Cost effective (cheap)
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- increased feedback
Sources:
(2006). Steroids: Scourge or savior? Maxim, 70.
(2004). Steroids and sports: A dangerous mix. Retrieved
(2007).Journalism . Retrieved
Gillmor, D. (2004). We the media. Chapter 1
1 comments:
Great post!
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