FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS

IN JOURNALISM
WHAT IS JOURNALISM?

• Journalism is primarily concerned with the collection and

dissemination of news through the print media as well as the
electronic media.
• This involves various areas of work like reporting, writing, editing,
photographing, broadcasting or cable casting news items. It covers
the printed media that comes in the form of broadsheets, tabloids,
newsletters and magazines.
ORIGIN

• Journalism comes from the latin word, djurnal, which means daily.
• This is why there is a communication of day-to-day information, whether
through sounds, pictures and words.
• Few places where journalism may appear include newspapers, magazines,
televisions, radios and the internet.
NEWSPAPERS

• Are the oldest and most traditional format for the inclusion of
journalism. They are regularly scheduled publications containing
news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and
advertising.
• Newspapers played a large role in the development of freedom of
expression, inside sources with the ability to “leak” stories to the
press often choose newspapers first over any other medium due
to the perceived willingness of their editors to expose corruption
and lies among otherwise respected institutions
MAGAZINES

• Are publications containing a variety of articles that are

generally published on a regular schedule, whether it be
weekly, monthly or quarterly. They usually take a much
more relaxed format than newspapers. With a more
informal style of writing.
MAGAZINES VS NEWSPAPERS

• Magazines are usually focused on a particular subject or

area of interest, whereas newspaper articles can cover
almost any topic.
TELEVISION NEWS JOURNALISM AND RADIO

• Also known as news broadcasting and is produced locally in a

newsroom or by a broadcast network.
• It sometimes also includes such additional material as sports
coverage , weather forecasts, traffic reports, commentary, and
other material that the broadcaster considers relevant to the
intended audience.
INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS

• Internet journalism has evolved into what it is today due to several

technological leaps in the modern age. There are now an uncountable
digitized number of reputable and not-so-reputable sources of information on
the internet.
• Everything from digitized versions of the very newspapers that headed up the
first print media to independent bloggers reporting their own stories from the
comfort of their own laptops.
• Because of this, opinions are much easier to come by, and
users can seek out the same story from multiple sources
to get more of a balanced view more than they could ever
do in the past.
THE TENETS OF
JOURNALISM
• Going into the road of journalism entails not only
knowledge but also responsibilities. Hence, the journalists
are bound by strict guidelines.
• Journalists have rights, but they must bear on their
shoulders the duties to serve the interest of the public.
1. RESPONSIBILITY

• Journalists should always be aware of their obligations to their

readers to write the truth whatever it costs. For this reason,
journalists must be brave enough to defend facts and the truth
behind the news.
• The journalists’ main responsibility is to be the transmitter of
veracity in any issue, and that they are liable not to the company
but to the public.
2. FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

• As a basic right, freedom of the press should be

safeguarded by the people of media. In this case, any
topic under the sweltering heat of the sun may be written
so long as there is no infraction to the laws of the land.
3. INDEPENDENCE

• Putting forward the life of one or two persons by slashing the

welfare of the general public is a clear violation of this tenet. It
means that the services of a journalist should be committed to the
interest of the general public and not driven by the interest of
money called “envelopmental journalism”
4. OBJECTIVITY, TRUTHFULNESS AND ACCURACY

• Checking the veracity of data and information before they are

published is an example of being accurate and truthful. Since facts
are the solid foundation of journalism, media men should not
therefore conceal the truth by fabricating facts and by publishing
misquoted statements and erroneous statistics.
• Objectivity is simply avoiding conflicts of interest on the
treatment of the articles and on the way arguments and
news are written.
• Partisan news and biased interviews violate the ideals of
journalism; ergo, a journalist should know the difference
between news and opinion. Readers and journalists alike,
believe that newspapers should be objective.
• Thus, reporters receive training from those who know
journalistic rules and learn to resolve whatever conflict
they may have.
• Teel and Taylor (1983), as cited by Pangilinan (2012),
suggested guidelines to attain a balanced story whenever
journalists face controversial issues.
• Stick to the facts
• Never insert personal opinion
• Be discreet in the use of adjectives
• Avoid cheap shots
• Somebody with something to say deserves a forum
• Assess your alliances
• Listen to your editor.
5. FAIRNESS

• The whole point in advocating objectivity is to be fair in presenting

information in any journalistic field. Remember the public will see
the topic according to the way journalists present it; hence,
reporters should exercise telling the truth and putting information
in the right perspective.
• Journalists should always present both sides of the coin, both sides
of the argument, both sides of controversial issues.
• They should set both avenues for the opposing parties to ventilate
their arguments and points of clarification.
• Journalists must also respect the privacy of individuals, unless,
there is a warrant of a public right.
• In case there is a mistake, true journalists should rectify the said
error, thus the errata in newspapers.
SPORTS WRITING
1. INTRO

• The most important news aspect of a sports game is the score. Who won?
How did they win and what effect did the victory have?
• “Cleveland Cavaliers lost 98-96 to the Boston Celtics after Delonte West’s sank
two free throws in the final seconds, dropping three and a half games behind
the Pistons for the best record in the Eastern Conference.”
2. MORE INFO

• The intro is enough for those who have a passing interest in the sport. However, NBA
fans would want more information and you could give it to them in one or two
paragraphs.
• “The Cavaliers were without star player LeBron James, suffering from a knee injury,
while the Celtics were minus Paul Pierce. Gerald Green led the way for Celtics with 25
points while Kendrick Perkins had 12 points and nine rebounds.
• The Cavaliers, for whom Larry Hughes scored 24 with Sasha Pavlovic scoring 17, have
already qualified for the play-offs while Boston are out of the running.”
3. QUOTE

• This is where you can provide a quote from the coach or a key player from both teams. You can precede
each saying with a lead-in paragraph or go straight into the quote.
• “Celtic forward Al Jefferson, said: ‘They were missing their best player and we were missing our best
play. We just stuck in there.’
• Cavs coach Mike Brown said James’ absence was a key factor in their loss.
• ‘We miss LeBron. We miss LeBron every time he doesn’t play. He’s our guy,’ said Brown.”
4. THE REST

• Once you got the main information and key quotes out of the way, you can go on to describe the game.
Even better would be to describe just one or two plays and include more quotes.
• The thinking behind sports articles is that people would have watched the game on TV anyway and
would not want boring game description. Therefore, quotes from the people who matter, such as
athletes and coaches, would offer better reading value.
• There are many types of sports news writing that is offered around the world everyday. We have merely
showed you its simplest form. Certainly, it is a rewarding form of news writing for journalists who love
their sport. And the structure they use allow them to adapt their skills to any type of journalism writing.
TIPS IN WRITING AN EFFECTIVE SPORTS ARTICLE

• Read
• Emotions are key
• Be simple
• Be objective
• Master the use of the inverted pyramid format
• Be aware of the game