JOURNALISM
What is Journalism?
Journalism is the production
and distribution of reports on
the interaction of events,
facts, ideas, and people that
are the "news of the day"
and that informs society to at
least some degree. The
word, a noun, applies to the
occupation, the methods of
gathering information, and
the organizing literary styles.
What is the purpose of Journalism?
Though it may be interesting or even
entertaining, the foremost value of
news is as a utility to empower the
informed. The purpose of journalism
is thus to provide citizens with the
information they need to make the
best possible decisions about their
lives, their communities, their
societies, and their governments.
Inform the public through
01 the news coverage.
Influence and mold the
02
Functions of public opinion.
Journalism 03 Amuse or entertain the public.
Serve and promote
04 community welfare as a
whole.
4
Five main types of journalistic writing:
1. Investigative journalism aims to discover the
truth about a topic, person, group or event. It
may require detailed and in-depth exploration
through interviews, research and analysis. The
purpose of investigative journalism is to answer
questions.
2. News journalism reports facts, as they emerge.
It aims to provide people with objective
information about current events, in
straightforward terms.
3. Feature writing provides a deeper look at
events, people or topics, and offer a new
perspective. Like investigative journalism, it may
seek to uncover new information, but is less
about answering questions, and more about
simply providing more information.
Five main types of journalistic writing:
4. Columns are the personal opinions of
the writer. They are designed to entertain and
persuade readers, and sometimes to be
controversial and generate discussion.
5. Reviews describe a subject in a factual
way, and then provide a personal opinion
on it. They are often about books or television
programmes when published in news media.
The Journalistic Writing Process
Journalists tend to follow a clear process in writing any article. This allows
them to put together a compelling story, with all the necessary elements.
1. Gather all necessary information
The first step is to gather all the information that
you need to write the story.
You want to know all the facts, from as many
angles as possible. Journalists often spend time
‘on site’ as part of this process, interviewing
people to find out what has happened, and
how events have affected them.
Ideally, you want to use primary sources:
people who were actually there, and witnessed
the events. Secondary sources (those who were
told by others what happened) are very much
second-best in journalism.
2. Verify all your sources
It is crucial to establish the value of your
information—that is, whether it is true or not.
3. Establish your angle
You then need to establish your story ‘angle’ or
focus: the aspect that makes it newsworthy.
This will vary with different types of journalism,
and for different news outlets. It may also need
some thought to establish why people should
care about your story.
4. Write a strong opening paragraph
Your opening paragraph tells readers why they
should bother to read on.
It needs to summarise the five Ws of the story:
who, what, why, when, and where.
5. Consider the headline
Journalists are not necessarily expected to come up with
their own headlines. However, it helps to consider how a
piece might be headlined.
Being able to summarise the piece in a few words is a
very good way to ensure that you are clear about your
story and angle.
6. Use the ‘inverted pyramid’ structure
Journalists use a very clear structure for their stories. They
start with the most important information (the opening
paragraph, above), then expand on that with more
detail. Finally, the last section of the article provides more
information for anyone who is interested.
7. Edit your work carefully
The final step in the journalistic writing process is to edit
your work yourself before submitting it.
Write this on your
Journal Notebook.
Journal Entry #1
Date: August 8, 2022
Title: My Most
Unforgettable
Experience
