Journalism Practice Research Report

 

Introduction

In my research report I will be looking at journalism practises both good and bad. I will do this so that I can differentiate the two and prevent myself from making mistakes in my work going forward. I will combine this with the other skills that I have learnt to allow myself the best opportunity at creating a good outcome.

 

​

​

In journalism it is important to cater towards your wider audience within the topic of discussion/coverage. One of the easiest ways that you can achieve this is by splitting up your presentation of information styles. This has two meanings: One is showing things such as pictures or videos to help get your point across, this will back up what you are saying and give different points and perspectives of a situation so that you are leaving it to the audience to frame their own opinion. The other meaning is how you report on information, for example if you are reporting on an incident and you are only talking about it from the 3rd party perspective, this limits the information that is being given to the audience. If you however spoke about some pieces of information from the inside, you are giving the whole picture to the audience. It was covered in an article about the downfall of modern day journalism that “Point of view journalists often choose stories that serve to validate their own interests or perspectives” [Kent.T, 2023] This tells us the importance of covering the whole truth within your journalism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​
 

Here is an example of an image which portrays and adds to a piece of journalism. This helps the writer gather the attention of the reader and also get their point across with more supporting factors.  

 

When covering something within journalism it is important to remember that your readers may have a short attention span and therefore it is important to capture their attention throughout your journalism to ensure that they keep viewing it. One of the best ways you can do this when writing is by keeping your points and opinions etc short and concise. This will mean that what you are trying to say will get through quicker and therefore re-engage your viewer. An example of why this is important was quoted as “If journalists only read the first paragraph or two, they still grasp the key message” [LinkedIn, 2023]. This tells us that it is important to grasp the attention of the reader in the first place but also that the point you are trying to make can be understood in the shortest amount of time while ensuring that all of the relevant information is still covered adequately.

​

​

​

When covering popular stories it is very easy to accidentally plagiarise someone else's work. This could be something as simple as sharing your own thoughts and opinions on a quote that someone has made in relation to a story etc. It is important when covering things within journalism that all work being published and credited under your name is actually your work. If you are using quotes and failing to credit the people who said them, this is also a form of plagiarism and needs to be avoided at all costs. It was said that “In general, erring on the side of directly crediting the source is safer, ethically and legally, than the reverse” [Stassen-Berger.R, 2023]. This tells us that it can be detrimental to a piece of journalism if plagiarism has occurred and it is important to not intentionally or accidentally use someone else's work without the clear statement that it isn't yours and additionally correctly crediting the author of it.

A common point of controversy within journalism in general is the use of purposeful and also accidental bias within coverage of stories. Major news outlets such as the BBC have been investigated over allegations of bias throughout their work as it is sometimes more serious than just being something which inconveniences the reader. It can also cause harm as a result of something which has been said or done and only partially covered. There is a difference between blatant and accidental bias however it causes the same overall issues, it was said in an article on this that “Where journalists may be met with practical limitations to neutrality such as lack of access to all the facts, media also regularly contains explicit bias” [Wardle. R, 2023]. This tells us that cases of bias should be addressed on a case by case basis due to the fact that it may not have been intentional. It is best however to proof check all of your work to ensure for definite that this is not something which has happened.

 

In conclusion there are both good and bad areas within the journalism sector and it is therefore important for me to learn from both of these areas in order to ensure that I am giving myself the best possible chance of success when it comes to doing any journalism myself. I will take what I have learnt and covered in this research report forward with me for all of my future work and therefore hopefully see a positive improvement to my work in comparison to how it was before this research report.

​

​

​

Bibliography 

Kent, T. (2023) Impartial or point-of-view. Available at: https://ethics.journalists.org/what-is-the-nature-of-your-journalism/impartial-or-point-of-view/#:~:text=Often%20the%20biggest%20distinction%20between,their%20own%20interests%20or%20perspectives  (Accessed: 06 December 2023)

LinkedIn (2023) How do you keep your press release concise and clear? Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/advice/1/how-do-you-keep-your-press-release-concise-clear (Accessed: 06 December 2023). 

Stassen-Berger, R. (2023) Plagiarism And Attribution . Available at: https://ethics.journalists.org/topics/plagiarism-and-attribution/  (Accessed: 06 December 2023).

Wardle, R. (2023) Understanding media bias: How credible are your sources? Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/understanding-media-bias-how-credible-are-your-sources  (Accessed: 06 December 2023).