Journalistic Principles and Ethics

1. Journalistic Principles and Ethics
JOURNALISM
Sam-Ang Sam
Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia
Sīla Samādhi Paññā
Commitment to Excellence

2. 1 Journalism Defined
2 Journalism
3 History of Journalism
4Journalist
CONTENTS

3. 1 Journalism Defined

4.  Collection, preparation, and distribution of
news and related commentary and feature
materials through media such as pamphlets,
newsletters, newspapers, magazines, radio,
film, television, and books
 The term was originally applied to the reportage
of current events in printed form, specifically
newspapers, but in the late 20th century it came
to include electronic media as well.
Journalism Defined

5.  It is sometimes used to refer to writing
characterized by a direct presentation of
facts or description of events without an
attempt at interpretation.
 Colleges and universities confer degrees in
journalism and sponsor research in related
fields such as media studies and journalism
ethics.
Journalism Defined

6.  The collection and editing of news for
presentation through the media
 The public press
 An academic study concerned with the
collection and editing of news or the
management of a news medium
Journalism Defined

7.  Writing designed for publication in a
newspaper or magazine
 Writing designed to appeal to current
popular taste or public interest
 Material written for publication in a
newspaper or magazine or for broadcast
Journalism Defined

8. Newspapers and magazines
An academic course training
students in journalism
Written material of current interest
or wide popular appeal
Journalism Defined

9.  Journalism is a method of inquiry and literary style used in
social and cultural representation.
 It serves the purpose of playing the role of a public service
machinery in the dissemination and analysis of news and
information.
 Journalistic integrity is based on the principles of truth,
accuracy, and factual knowledge.
 Journalistic medium can vary diversely, from print
publishing to electronic broadcasting, and from
newspapers to television channels, as well as to the web,
and to digital technology.
2 JOURNALISM

10. JOURNALISM

11.  In modern society, the news media is the chief
purveyor (supplyer) of information and opinion
about public affairs.
 Journalism, however, is not always confined to the
news media or to news itself, as journalistic
communication may find its way into broader
forms of expression, including literature and
cinema.
 In some nations, the news media is still controlled
by government intervention, and is not fully an
independent body.
JOURNALISM

12.  In a democratic society, however, access to free
information plays a central role in creating a
system of checks and balance, and in distributing
power equally between governments, businesses,
individuals, and other social entities.
 Access to verifiable information gathered by
independent media sources, which adhere to
journalistic standards, can also be of service to
ordinary citizens, by empowering them with the
tools they need in order to participate in the
political process.
JOURNALISM

13.  The role and status of journalism, along with that of
the mass media, has undergone profound changes
over the last two decades with the advent of digital
technology and publication of news on the Internet.
 This has created a shift in the consumption of print
media channels, as people increasingly consume news
through e-readers, smartphones, and other electronic
devices, challenging news organizations to fully
monetize (establish as legal tender or coin into
money) their digital wing, as well as improvise on the
context in which they publish news in print.
JOURNALISM

14.  Notably, in the American media landscape,
newsrooms have reduced their staff and
coverage as traditional media channels, such
as television, grapple with declining
audiences.
 For instance, between 2007 and 2012, CNN
edited its story packages into nearly half of
their original time length.
JOURNALISM

15.  There are several different forms of
journalism, all with diverse audiences.
 In modern society, “prestige” journalism is
said to serve the role of a “fourth estate,”
acting as a watchdog on the workings of the
government.
 Other forms of journalism feature in
different formats and cater to different
audiences.
JOURNALISM

16.  Some forms include:
1. Advocacy journalism: Writing to advocate particular
viewpoints or influence the opinions of the
audience.
2. Broadcast journalism: Written or spoken journalism
for radio or television.
3. Drone journalism: Use of drones to capture
journalistic footage.
4. Gonzo journalism: First championed by Hunter S.
Thompson, gonzo journalism is a “highly personal
style of reporting.”
JOURNALISM

17. 5. Investigative journalism: The use of
investigation on a subject matter while
uncovering news events.
6. Photojournalism: The telling of a story
through its images.
7. Tabloid journalism: Writing that is light-
hearted and entertaining.
8. Yellow journalism (or sensationalism):
Writing which emphasizes exaggerated
claims or rumors.
JOURNALISM

18.  The recent rise of social media has resulted
in arguments to reconsider journalism as a
process rather than attributing it to
particular news products.
 From this perspective, journalism is
participatory, a process distributed among
multiple authors and involving journalists as
well as the socially mediating public.
JOURNALISM

19.  The Johann Carolus’s Relation aller
Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien,
published in 1605 in Strassburg, is often
recognized as the first newspaper.
 The first successful English daily, the Daily
Courant, was published from 1702 to 1735.
 The reform of the Diário Carioca newspaper
in the 1950s is usually referred to as the birth
of modern journalism in Brazil.
3 HISTORY OF JOURNALISM

20.  In the 1920s, as modern journalism was just
taking form, writer Walter Lippmann and
American philosopher John Dewey debated
over the role of journalism in a democracy.
 Their differing philosophies still characterize
a debate about the role of journalism in
society and the nation-state.
HISTORY OF JOURNALISM

21. Walter Lippmann

22. John Dewey

23.  Dewey, on the other hand, believed the public was not only
capable of understanding the issues created or responded
to by the elite, it was in the public forum that decisions
should be made after discussion and debate.
 When issues were thoroughly vetted (examined or
checked), then the best ideas would bubble to the surface.
 Dewey believed journalists should do more than simply pass
on information.
 He believed they should weigh the consequences of the
policies being enacted.
 Over time, his idea has been implemented in various
degrees, and is more commonly known as “community
journalism.”
John Dewey

24. Media lawyer and University of Dayton
assistant professor Jonathan Peters
and Edson C. Tandoc Jr., of the
Missouri School of Journalism tried to
answer the question “Who is a
journalist?” through a new study.
The two “culled (bound together) a
variety of sources that conceptualize a
journalist, and they analyzed each one
to identify its elements.”
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25. In the study, the authors write they
“do not offer a normative
definition, but we do offer
normative comments on the
descriptive definition.”
Such a description is timely, they
write, as the U.S. considers a
reporter’s shield law.
JOURNALIST

26. They consulted three “domains” —
academic, legal, industry — for
commonalities in definitions of journalism,
among them federal laws about
professions, state shield laws and the
criteria of journalism organizations like the
National Association of Black Journalists
and the Regional Reporters Association.
Most centered around activities, output
and what they call the “social role” of
journalists (e.g., being a watchdog).
JOURNALIST

27. Here’s the definition they came up
with:
“A journalist is someone employed to
regularly engage in gathering,
processing, and disseminating (activities)
news and information (output) to serve
the public interest (social role).”
JOURNALIST

28. They also argue against their
definition, which they stress is one
that “unifies the conceptions of the
three domains and the dimensions
and indicators that others have
used to define a journalist.”
JOURNALIST

29.  By referring to employment, however, the
definition delivers a fatal blow to the people
engaging in many new forms of journalism.
 The definition would not include unpaid
bloggers and citizen journalists who gather,
process, and disseminate news and
information on matters of public concern —
because they do not derive their primary
source of livelihood from their journalistic
activities.
JOURNALIST

30. To the extent the definition is used to
decide who may claim the legal privileges
of journalists, it puts a large number of
actors in the journalism ecosystem in the
position of fulfilling community needs for
news, however well the actors do so,
without the assurances that keep
traditional journalists safe when their
work provokes a backlash.
That is unwise.
JOURNALIST

31. File: JOURNALISM/L1 Journalism.ppt
Date: August 30, 2016 (November 30, 2013)
Running Time: 1:30 hrs.
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