I referenced these Principles of Journalism during a panel on the difficulty of training journalists at the International Press Institute’s World Congress in Amman, Jordan. These principles were developed by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their book “The Elements of Journalism.” I think they’re the best encapsulation of the definition of good journalism.
1) Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.2) Its first loyalty is to citizens.
3) Its essence is a discipline of verification.
4) Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
5) It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
6) It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
7) It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.
8) It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
9) Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
Some of these are quite easy to support — governments and press alike. “Obligation to truth” and “discipline of verification,” for instance. However, in countries without an elected leader or ruler, the government might not appreciate the “first loyalty to citizens” and “independent monitor of power.”
Hence the inherent subversiveness in teaching good journalism.
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Thanks for that hard working
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[…] J. Duffy, an academic media scholar and PhD wrote an article titled “The 9 Principles of Journalism.” Guess where a venture like All things STUPID about the news fits in. If you imagined […]
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I enjoy the way you present and maintain all of the details in addition to your overall writing style.
Sometimes, there is a shortage of time to read lengthy pieces, but yours is short and concise,
I spent only a couple of minutes to read the whole article.
It is vital since no one has time to read.