This textbook will introduce you to the field and provide you with the tools to
This textbook will introduce you to the field and provide you with the tools to write in a journalistic news style. We also will compare journalism to food, specifically broccoli and chocolate, because that helps with comprehension. More on that later.
First, a definition. Journalism is “the activity of gathering, assessing, creating and presenting news and information. It is also the product of these activities,” according to the American Press Institute, a nonprofit that supports journalists.
The Press Institute further explains the difference between journalism and other fields:
“Journalism can be distinguished from other activities and products by certain identifiable characteristics and practices. These elements not only separate journalism from other forms of communication, but they are also what make it indispensable to democratic societies. History reveals that the more democratic a society, the more news and information it tends to have.”
In other words, journalism deals with verified facts from experts and research and official documents, not speculation or opinion from someone on television or on social media. The lines between the two approaches have blurred over the years as technology has evolved. In this book, the focus is on writing and communicating facts and verified information in a traditional news form. We can leave the pontificating to the entertainers.
But even news writing can be entertaining. You will learn two kinds of news writing in this book: broccoli and chocolate news. Both are valuable and offer readers something to consume. They have slightly different formats and often widely different angles, but are both based on sound reporting and facts.
Think back to when you were young and you were faced with eating a healthy vegetable, like broccoli. You looked upon it with dread. Most people think broccoli is unappetizing but important to consume for their physical health. The broccoli type of journalism is providing readers with the informational nutrients they need in their diet. This textbook will teach you how to make broccoli more appetizing — add some cheese? — so your readers will want to consume it.
What do broccoli stories look like? Politics is an important example because what your government does affects your life and your finances. Road construction? You need to know how to avoid traffic. Whether a Walmart or skate park is built in your town? If you know the city is trying to decide between the two, you can tell its leaders how you want them to spend your tax dollars.
This book also will delve into chocolate news. The chocolate style of journalism is often feature stories. They are the feel-good, human-interest stories that do not help you as much but are much more fun to consume.
Examples of chocolate stories are features on people, sports game recaps and anything about celebrities. Will knowing who Taylor Swift is dating benefit your life? No, but neither will eating chocolate, and yet I still do. Your job