7.00 Reporter's Notebook

Prior to taking Journalism 1 on FLVS, I thought a journalist was someone who captured a moment in time that was of interest to the public through video, writing or photography. I was aware that journalists had a code of ethics they needed to follow, and knew the majority of those rules. I understood the difference between impartial writing and opinion writing before enrolling in this course. The primary reason I decided to take Journalism 1 is because I knew I wanted to be a journalist one day.

Overall, my definition and thoughts towards the purpose of journalism has remained unchanged. But I had a lot of prior knowledge about journalism before taking this course. I know that if you don't religiously follow your company's code of ethics, then you will be fired immediately and your company might suffer from major consequences if your breech in ethics was significant enough. My understanding between opinion writing and impartial writing has remained the same. I've always known you're supposed to remain unbiased in impartial writing, but you're allowed to reflect your feelings in opinion writing. I am still interested in a journalism career, as I have always been. Journalism gives me an opportunity to stay informed about what's going on in my community, and tell others about it.

6.00

Josh Elliot is a well-known journalist who works as a television news reader. He kick started his journalism career while writing for Sports Illustrated  and working as a comedy develop assistant for FOX TV. His career took off in 2004, when he began appearing on ESPN’s shows, such as “Rome is Burning.” He also hosted ESPN’s nighttime series, “Classic Now.” I feel Elliot has an abundance of experience in the journalism industry,

Elliot is currently working as a news-reader for ABC’s morning show, Good Morning America. This show is similar to his job at ESPN hosting “Classic Now,” but is different than his writing gig for Sports Illustrated—he doesn’t write most of what he reads for GMA. I believe he is working with established journalists, such as George Stephanopolis, and he’s gaining more experience in journalism.


Works Cited:
Rocco, Lou. "Josh Elliott's Biography." ABC News. ABC News Network, 02 May 2011. Web. 01 July 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/good-morning-america-anchor-josh-elliotts-biography/story?id=13450884>.

5.00

Some people love it, other despise it: no matter how you feel about writing it is a necessity in life. Writing—unlike math—is a useful skill that almost everyone uses outside of the classroom. Whether you’re compiling a portfolio for potential employees, sending a quick text message or composing a business letter, you’re using writing in one way or another. Since writing is used in so many ways by so many different people, it’s obvious that individuals are bound to form their own definition for the term “writing.”

In my opinion, writing is a technique people use for communicating with each other. News reporters use writing to diffuse information about current events across a community, authors create books that convey some of their most creative and innovative thoughts, and everyday people utilize writing to converse with peers who they aren’t able to see. No matter what form of writing you contemplate, in some way or another it is a form of communication.

Since writing is a means for communication, it’s no surprise that people often pass on their opinions through writing. Journalists who aren’t constructing an editorial are exclude all personal beliefs from their writing. There is some speculation, however that it is humanly impossible to create a truly impartial piece of writing. I disagree with this statement, however. If a journalist were to put their word choice under close inspection, and include quotes expressing contradicting feelings towards a topic from different people, they could easily generate an unbiased piece of writing.

2.01: Reporter's Notebook: "What specific rules do the reporters at your local newspaper have to follow to ensure credibility?"

Newspapers have always been one of the most common, popular ways for people to gather their news.  Due to newspaper's popularity, there is an abundant amount of gazettes circulating through every town and city. Before a paper can become popular and gain a desirable amount of readers, it must first prove that it is plausible. A newspaper can establish credibility with it's audience by only printing reliable and trustworthy information. To ensure nothing but valid information is printed in their gazettes, companies will often set up a code of ethics for their reporters or a set of rules journalists must use when creating an article.

The two most common, highly regarded rules for newspaper journalists include triple checking facts and never plagiarizing. Jane Healy, an editor at Orlando Sentinel, preached the importance of these two rules at Florida Scholastic Press Association conference I attended in October. She stated that if a reporter does not follow these two simple rules they are damaging their paper's credibility and WILL be fired. 

The New York Times is an example of a highly prosperous newspaper that has set up a code of ethics for their workers. On their company website, The New York Times has promptly displayed their company policy for the public to view.

Clause 21 in section 2A of their policy reads, “We treat news sources fairly and professionally. We do not inquire pointlessly into someone's personal life. We do not threaten to damage uncooperative sources, nor do we promise favorable coverage in return for cooperation. We do not pay for interviews or unpublished documents: to do so would create an incentive for sources to falsify material … that we publish.”

Newspapers are a highly respective medium that requires its reporters to follow equally respective rules.

Works Cited

Sigma Delta Chi. (1996). SPJ Code of Ethics. Retrieved 03 03, 2011, from Society of Proffesional Journalists: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

The New York Times Company. (2011). The New York Times Company Policy on Ethics in Journalism. Retrieved 03 03, 2011, from The New York Times Company: http://www.nytco.com/press/ethics.html

2.00 Module Two Pre-Assessment

News: we hear it on the radio, see it being broadcasting on television and read it in newspapers, but what exactly is news? Journalists and news reporters tend to have strong feelings about on what this all-important word means.

Google’s definition of news is, “A broadcast or published report of news.” However, many journalists disagree with this bland, cookie-cutter statement. They feel that news is so much more than just an update on current events Professional reporters feel that news must be a report on events that are intriguing and of concern to the common person.

This belief is expressed in a statement made my Kurt Loader, an American reporter.

“…News is anything that's interesting, that relates to what's happening in the world, what's happening in areas of the culture that would be of interest to your audience.” Loader once said.

In his witty quote, Charles Anderson Dana, an American journalist, also expressed his credence towards the concept that news wasn’t just a report on happenings.

“When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news.” Dana stated.

So, to sum it all up news is the story telling of sapid events in an informal way.

Works Cited

Dana, C. A. (1819-1897). What is News? Retrieved 02 26, 2012, from The News Manual: http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/what_is_news_00.htm

Loader, K. (1945). What is news? Retrieved February 26, 2012, from The News Manual: http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Resources/what_is_news_00.htm

Reporter's Notebook: Lesson 1.01 Evolution of American Journalism

In the 1690’s, the circulation of America’s first newspaper, Publick Occurrences, was put to an end after the gazette’s publisher was arrested. What Americans didn't know back then was that America’s journalism industry would steadily flourish and prosper following the unfortunate end of this publication.  

The most important factor in the evolution of American journalism was the creation of the First Amendment in the Constitution. Within the First Amendment lies a quote stating, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” This statement prevents the government from prohibiting the media from discussing intimate details about the government and politicians. This liberty is important because without it the government would have full control of how much knowledge reporters and the general public gain about the government.

Have you ever heard the old saying “With freedom comes responsibilities?” Well, that statement fully applies to journalists. With the freedom of the press came the responsibility for journalists to find a way to effectively distribute accurate information to the public.

From the late 1600s to the early 1900s America’s only way of spreading news across the nation was by newspaper. Newspapers were printed in mass amounts, and then shipped to various locations. As technology developed reporters gained new, innovative ways to disperse information.

In the 1920s some of the first radio broadcasts featuring news reports were aired. This gave journalists a faster and easier way to inform citizens what was going on in their community.

The invention of television in the mid 1940s was also important to the evolution of journalism. Television allowed reporters to broadcast their stories while simultaneously showing video clips and images to their viewers.

The final technological innovation that helped develop the United State’s journalism industry was computers. Computers provided writers with one of the most important tools in writing: the delete key. The delete key allowed writers to edit their articles with ease. 


The invention of computers also allowed journalists to connect to the Internet. Connection to the World Wide Web allow reporters to complete two significant actions: gather quotes, information and facts within seconds and instantly publish articles.

Next time you find yourself watching a Katie Couric report about the presidential election on CBS, or reading an article about Casey Antony on your iPad’s browser, take the time to appreciate journalism and it’s past. Without journalism, we would be uninformed about important current events and without journalism’s past there would be no online newspapers.

Reference: 

Florida Virtual School, (2011). The Evolution of American Journalism. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from : http://learn.flvs.net/educator/student/frame.cgi?ahudson20*kpetty8*mpos=1&spos=0&option=hidemenu&slt=qtBMebpZJLMBw*3493*http://learn.flvs.net/webdav/educator_journalism1_v11/index.htm

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