Chapter objectives

After reading this chapter, you should understand the following:

Doing research for journalism usually involves using a combination of research skills, so unpacking them here is somewhat artificial. Much of what is described or suggested here might take seconds, or could develop into a major investigation taking days or even months. Throughout, however, it is vital to remember that you are a journalist and your core business is stories. This chapter introduces the research process upon which all good journalism relies. As information or ‘knowledge’ workers, journalists need a high level of information literacy.

News does not just fall into the lap of a journalist. This is true despite the endless tsunami of media announcements, press releases and tip-offs that pour into the newsroom every day. As the writers of Modern Journalism expressed it in 1931, most of this material is not really news at all; it is ‘too trivial in content to be so dignified’. A good reporter and a competent editor will know that all the information must be sifted, sorted and given an angle before it can become news; it has to be important or interesting – or preferably both: ‘News may be important without being interesting, and the converse applies,’ Modern Journalism tell us, but without our ability to know whether it is either, we will not know news even if it is right under our noses.

Chapter objectives

Together with the next three chapters (on defamation, ethics and professionalism), this chapter will introduce you to the following:

You can’t plead ignorance

Words similar to those in Queensland’s Criminal Code operate or prevail in all jurisdictions. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If it were, everyone could claim they didn’t know what they did was wrong and there would be no need for courts. It would probably be a pretty wild – even dangerous – place out there. Relying on what others say the law is – even those who should know – is no defence either. What this illustrates for the journalist, and everyone else, is simple: to do a professional job as a journalist, you have to know the law. And there is a great deal to know.

Chapter objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be confident about the following:

Every journalist needs to understand the issues around defamation. The purpose must be to ‘get away with’ as much as possible – to use the law and the defences to defamation as a tool to publish, not as a brake on the flow of information that is in the public interest. This chapter is not a substitute for detailed study of the laws of defamation; it is a guide to keeping you (and your publication) out of trouble.

Reputation damage: A costly legal business

The basketball player Charles Barkley could dunk the ball and dribble; he also has a good sense of humour. Defamation laws protect people’s reputation – their good name (assuming they have one, of course). Wrongly harming or damaging a person’s reputation can be a serious problem too. What all this means is that while it may be possible to publish all kinds of material before the ‘course of justice’ has commenced or after it has concluded, and not be found to be in contempt, what you publish could still be defamatory. And someone may sue you. So even when there is no ‘course of justice’ running, you still need to be careful about the things you publish.

Chapter objectives

This chapter explores some issues about which beginning reporters might have questions, such as:

After reading the chapter, you should not only have a better idea about whether you want to be a journalist, you should also have a greater understanding of what it will take to succeed. Don’t be too worried if you find that you don’t want to be a reporter; everything you learn in a journalism course at university will provide you with valuable and transferable skills that are applicable in many professions and work situations.

One of the most confusing questions we get asked most days is: What does it mean to be a journalist today? Is journalism just ‘a collection of practices that can be done by anyone’? Even 10 years ago, this was not really a question; the ‘news 2.0’ tsunami had not really hit the newsroom yet, and journalism was something that journalists did on behalf of everyone else. There was the journalist inside the news organisation and the audience outside. But then a whole new DIY style began to emerge. It had its powerful moment of creation during protests against the ‘new world order’ in Seattle in 1999. Anti-capitalist protestors wanted to demonstrate at the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit, and they also felt that their message would not be reported accurately (if at all) by the mainstream media. So, instead of relying on the mainstream media, the activists decided to create their own global media: the Indymedia movement was born. In the decade since, we have seen the rise of so-called ‘citizen journalism’ and do-it-yourself broadcasting in the form of YouTube, blogs and now Twitter.

Chapter objectives

In this chapter you will discover the following:

News organisations want more from their reporters than just an ability to write news stories. They want people who can also write well– to satisfy those who want more from their news outlet than just the news. This chapter is about introducing some style and flair into your writing. This is not a licence to go ‘crazy’ and come over all ‘experimental’, but it is a form of permission to flex your writing muscle and exercise your imagination.

Writing well is not just writing

Good writing is all but invisible. You know it’s there only because what you are reading or hearing has a flow, a rhythm and a beat that make you want more. It holds your attention, but without drawing attention to itself. It is an artform. According to research findings presented a few years ago at an annual Journalism Education Association conference, both print and electronic media recruiters said they prized journalism graduates who could write well over those with a command of technology (Nankervis, 2005 ). Other research into the journalism job market also suggests that editors want reporters who can write for several media platforms and also for the time-rich reader – this is in line with international studies too.

Chapter objectives

This chapter will teach you the following skills and introduce the following issues:

Now you have begun to learn news-gathering skills, it is time to begin blending these with some writing practice. Along the way, we talk about words, illustrations, audio and video – each an important addition to your journalistic toolkit. But for now, it is words that matter most. In any form, journalism means clear writing. In a simple news story, this is to help the reader get the ‘news’ quickly and accurately. In a feature story, it means a narrative style that is engaging, enlightening and entertaining. For radio, good writing means painting a scene with words and sound effects (SFx), good intros and tight, flowing scripts. Television news and current affairs is about writing ‘to’ or ‘with’ the pictures. TV news editors often tell young reporters: ‘Don’t tell the news, show it.’ Even so, the script must convey information that the pictures don’t have. New styles of writing are emerging on the internet. Formats vary from the straight ‘inverted pyramid’ hard news brief to the newsblog and opinion, and all shades in between.

Chapter objectives

The aims of this chapter are to:

What does it mean to be professional?

This statement, in the Foreword to Modern Journalism, is perhaps the first articulation of how the profession of journalism was born (or, if you like, made). But the sub-title used by the authors in this 1931 edition was ‘A Complete Guide to the Newspaper Craft’. Throughout the twentieth century, journalism slowly made the transition from craft to trade to profession, and the education of young reporters – both inside and outside the newsroom – was a major factor in that change. Even in 1931, the English reporter was being exhorted to ‘respect his [sic.] profession’ and to ‘regard himself as a trustee for English language’. H.A. Gwynne wrote that these two principles were ‘the foundations of journalism’.

Chapter objectives

After reading this chapter, you should have a greater understanding of the following issues:

This chapter is about taking everything you know about journalism and news-writing and applying it to online media. It’s a racing certainty that you are familiar with the online world: the explosion of online, multimedia and mobile journalism in recent years has meant that this area of knowledge has expanded rapidly, and continues to do so. The best way to keep up is by following online debates and social media forums where these issues are being talked about. This chapter aims to introduce a newsy perspective to your online interaction.