The Elements of Journalism
The Elements of Journalism - 10 Principles That Transcend Time -
(by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel)
A definitive book on journalism, with the first edition published in 2001 and the fourth edition in 2021.
Chapter 1: What Is Journalism For?
Chapter 2: Truth - The Most Important and Most Elusive Principle
Chapter 3: Who Journalists Work For
Chapter 4: Journalism of Verification
Chapter 5: Independence from Faction
Chapter 6: Monitor Power and Give Voice to the Voiceless
Chapter 7: Journalism as a Public Forum
Chapter 8: Engagement and Relevance
Chapter 9: Proportionality and Comprehensiveness
Chapter 10: The Journalist's Conscience
Chapter 11: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
Introduction
In the first half of the 17th century, amidst the Enlightenment, journalism created a public square for debate by taking information related to citizens' rights and responsibilities out of the monopoly of a very few (royal courts and secret parliaments) and putting it into the hands of the many. However, today, the public square is being fragmented by issues with news organizations, social media, IT companies, and targeting mechanisms.
And because it is unclear what journalism should be and how to intelligently consume news in the first place, both journalists and the public are ill-prepared for the impact of digitalization.
News: A way to know the world that we cannot experience directly. It is necessary for self-protection, connecting with others, and distinguishing between friends and enemies.
The 10 Elements of Journalism
1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens.
3. Its essence is a discipline of verification.
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
10. Citizens, too, have rights and responsibilities when it comes to news, even more so as they become producers and editors themselves.
Chapter 1: What Is Journalism For?
The primary purpose of journalism is to provide the information citizens need to be free and self-governing.
The instinct to know: Even for events we cannot see ourselves, knowing them evokes a sense of safety, control, and reassurance. Understanding others is also a way of understanding ourselves.
Exchanging such information becomes the foundation for building communities and connecting human beings.
The roles of journalists in the new era are:
1: Truth authenticators who verify facts
2: Helping people understand so that information turns into wisdom
3: Eyewitnesses who cover not just what people pay attention to, but also what is not being covered
4: Watchdogs who expose wrongdoing
5: Curators of information
6: Leaders of public forums
7: Enablers who help people take action
8: Role models who act with integrity
9: Community builders
10: Providers of essential information such as politics, stock prices, and sports
Good journalism builds community and improves the lives of citizens.
Chapter 2: Truth - The Most Important and Most Elusive Principle
Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
The pursuit of truth is the fundamental difference from other forms of communication.
News is not just the pursuit of truth, but a process where subsequent information is built upon what was reported first, where new details are revealed, news organizations correct initial errors, and previously unknown elements are added.
Fake news spreads six times faster than true news.
Journalism is tasked with listening to and understanding readers and viewers, and must understand the science of how readers and viewers process information. It must help people know things. It is not merely about providing information.
Chapter 3: Who Journalists Work For
Most jobs are measured by how much money they generate. What is the value of journalism measured by?
To be a reliable news organization:
1 Serve the citizens
2 Hire executives who put citizens first
3 Journalists have the final say on the news
4 Decide and discuss clear standards within the organization
5 Discuss clear standards with people in society as well
Chapter 4: Journalism that Verifies Facts
The essence of journalism lies in the discipline of fact-checking.
The discipline of fact-checking distinguishes journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction, and art.
Discipline of fact-checking
1 Never add anything that was not originally there
2 Never deceive readers or viewers
3 Disclose your methods and motives as transparently as possible
4 Rely on your own original reporting
5 Maintain humility
Misleading people is a form of lying. If you cannot convey eyewitness testimony in the most faithful way possible, you should inform the readers and viewers. Transparency allows readers and viewers to judge the validity of the information, the process by which it was obtained, and the motives and biases of the people who provided it.
Identifying and detailing sources is the most effective form of transparency that a news reporter can implement on their own.
What do my readers and viewers need to know in order to make their own value judgments about this information?
Is there anything controversial in the decision to include or remove something?
Is it clear why this was made into an article and released as news in the first place? In other words, does the selection of the news itself require explanation? Are there people who think that the selection itself reflects bias? Why is it worth your effort to produce this news and worth the readers' and viewers' time to consume it? Are there any risks in explaining that?
Asking questions
・Clearly communicate contradictions
(Is there anything in the other party's argument that you can understand?)
・Ask questions that lead to motives
(Why is this important to you?)
・Listen more and listen better
(Tell me more about that)
The problem with the word 'objectivity'
The antonym is subjectivity. Objectivity is not just broadcasting a politician's statement as is. The word 'fairness' also remains problematic. By trying to appear fair, it can convey a false sense of equality, suggesting that different opinions have the same moral weight.
Checklist for anonymity
1 Is the information essential to the article?
2 Is the information a fact, rather than an opinion or judgment? (He did not grant anonymity for statements that crossed into judgment)
3 Is the source in a position to truly know—is it someone who saw it with their own eyes?
4 Is there other material to show reliability? (Multiple sources, independent verification, the source's experience)
5 What explanation will be added so that readers can decide how much weight to give that source?
Chapter 5: Independence from Partisanship
Journalists must maintain independence from those they cover.
Once you report on and participate in an event, it becomes difficult to view things from a different perspective. It becomes even harder to gain the trust of sources with different viewpoints or those in opposition. Furthermore, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to convince your readers and viewers that while you are trying to help a certain group, you are prioritizing the interests of the readers and viewers over the interests of that group.
Beyond ties to political parties, it is important to look at other conflicts of interest and interdependent relationships that can occur for journalists.
Diversity and Independence
Diversity must not only mean race, ethnicity, and gender, but also the acknowledgment of arguments to make decision-making in newsrooms more open, including class, culture, and more.
Open Journalism that Maintains Independence (Example by the Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian)
・Encourage people to participate.
・It is not unresponsive (to people), meaning it is not a static product.
・Have people enter the process before production.
・Form communities centered around interests.
・Be open to the web, link, and collaborate.
・Aggregate and curate.
・Recognize that journalists are not the only authoritative speakers.
・Achieve diversity and make it a reflection of that.
・Publication is the starting point of the process, not the end point.
・Do not shy away from objections, corrections, and additional explanations.
Chapter 6: Monitor the Powerful and Be a Voice for the Powerless
Journalists must serve as an independent watchdog against those in power.
The watchdog principle goes beyond just watching the government. It extends to all organizations that hold power in society, whether governmental, non-governmental, or for-profit, and everything that plays a role in affecting people's lives. This now, of course, includes platform companies (which sometimes show a stance of supporting journalism and have created mechanisms to become financial partners with journalism institutions, such as through grants).
Three Forms of Investigative Journalism
1 Original Investigative Journalism
Activities by reporters who discover and write about previously unknown actions in order to inform people about things or situations that could impact their lives.
2 Interpretive Investigative Journalism
Interpretive journalism is produced by pursuing matters more carefully than original investigative journalism and organizing perspectives; it connects information and places it in a new, overall context so that people can understand it more deeply.
3 Reporting on Investigations and Inquiries
Reporting that develops by uncovering or obtaining leaks about information regarding official investigations and inquiries that someone (usually a government agency) is already conducting or preparing.
Investigative Journalism as Accusation
In investigative journalism, the issue of morality is added to this. Therefore, sufficient information and evidence are required.
Chapter 7: Journalism as a Forum for Open Debate
Journalism must provide a forum for debate where people can engage in criticism and compromise.
The idea that technology expands the forum for everyone's debate and broadens the range of shared facts is merely a fantasy. Rather, it is fragmented.
Journalism must provide a place for people to critique. It is becoming increasingly important in this new era that social debate there is also built upon the same principles as other journalism—truthfulness, facts, and fact-checking as the starting point.
The forum for debate must be one where people from all positions in the community can participate. It should not be limited to only the most vocal people—that is, those most visible on social media—or only those segments of the population that are attractive as targets for selling goods or services.
Chapter 8: The Power to Engage, Connection to Oneself
Journalism must make important things interesting and relevant to oneself.
"Attractive things" vs. "Issues that connect to oneself." Should we prioritize news that is interesting, fascinating, and emotionally resonant? Should we insist on the most important news? What journalists should provide is it what is needed, or what is wanted?
Enable readers to grasp what is happening in the world through excellent reporting, thinking, storytelling, design, and data presentation. Find ways to make the important parts of each story interesting, engaging, and meaningful.
Turning news into entertainment is wrong. It may be good in the short term, but it will only attract shallow readers.
How to tell a story
1 What is this story really about? (What do the facts found so far and the data seen indicate?)
2 Who is affected by these facts, and how? What necessary information do those people need to decide their opinions on this issue?
3 Who knows that information? Who can explain it with the necessary background?
4 What is the best way to convey this story? Is it by telling a narrative?
・What is the theme being pursued?
・How appropriate is the method of delivery?
・What platform will be used?
1 Issue or trend (considering the background)
2 Explanatory elements (reasons why it happened)
3 Profiles (people involved, characters)
4 Voices (who can speak about it)
5 Description
6 Investigation (available documents, etc.)
7 Narrative (is it connected from beginning to end?)
8 Visuals (photos, graphics)
9 Data (can it be explained with numbers?)
10 Audio
11 Platform (Instagram or short messages?)
・Connect reported content to deeper themes
・Characterization and detail (characterization is key as a way to convey rather than explain)
Chapter 9: Distributing the Big Picture Well
Journalism must convey the big picture in news with good distribution
What is news? With limited space, time, and resources, what is important and what is not? What should be included in a report and what should be excluded? In the era of the infinitely expanding internet, who is responsible for speaking?
No news organization can report everything because there are limits to time, money, and people.
The Future of Journalism
Rather than attracting as many readers and viewers as possible who are of interest to advertisers, the future of journalism will prioritize the creation of valuable content that consumers themselves are willing to pay for.
・It is required that the social class of readers and viewers be broad and include a variety of people. Many people can pay $10 a month. Data makes it clear that people are paying this amount in their daily lives for many services such as video streaming.
・Journalism must involve a wider range of people in the community (especially young people, people of color, and conservatives).
・If the news business wants to rejuvenate, there is no doubt that its platform must be mobile, where the average age is young.
・Platformers have changed their algorithms to make money for themselves, while increasingly tending not to let us naturally encounter everything we might want to know. We are increasingly likely to be left behind without knowing things. The world is becoming smaller.
Measurement methods (local TV stations)
Classify by the standard and quality of reporting and coverage, not by theme. Understand trends by looking at viewership ratings over time.
Analyzing 33,000 reports from 150 stations and 2,419 news programs over five years, it was found thathow the news is covered and reported(the number of people interviewed, balance, expertise, whether the connection to the viewer and importance are clear, and whether the news is highly polished) istwice as importantas what the theme is.
→ An era shifting from news programs as a whole to individual reporting content units
Measurement (WEB)
Journalism is moving away from advertising revenue and shifting its focus to consumer-based revenue (subscriptions, memberships, donations, etc.), making page views less important.
Adopting a unique hybrid metric that combines the following items
・Page views
・Time spent on page
・Number of shares to others
・Number of monthly visits
・Whether the user is a subscriber or a paying user
In addition
・Whether reading the article led to a purchase
・Whether subscribers read the article
Surveying first-time newspaper subscribers and their reasons for subscribing
・Had an interest in a specific field
・Feeling of participation by purchasing local media
・Moved to that region
・Wanting to support journalism
・Had a coupon
・Family or friends were subscribers
New consumers of news
・Choosing multiple media outlets according to purpose (not sticking to just one)
・What are the time slots and devices used?
・Data (numerical indicators, etc.) is necessary for better journalism
・Utilizing the interactivity of the web
Chapter 10: Journalists are responsible to their own conscience
The duty to uphold one's conscience as an individual
Journalism is influenced by how people conduct themselves. There is no official self-regulation. The ethics of the people reporting and the companies broadcasting carry heavy responsibility. Ethics are embedded in every element and every judgment.
Since there is no law for news, one needs their own compass to decide what to do and what not to do.
The goal is intellectual diversity
Without diversity, journalism lacks accuracy (age, gender, class, race, etc.). Intellectual diversity, such as culture and ideology, is even more difficult than racial diversity.
Chapter 11: Rights and responsibilities on the part of citizens
Citizens determine the state of news through their choices. They have rights, but they also have responsibilities.
Journalism and democracy were born together. The original role of reporting was to provide people with information about the powers and institutions that govern their lives. Now, it has changed to a form where citizens find the information they need themselves.
Rights and responsibilities of citizens
They have the right to demand evidence for reports. What is unknown or cannot be understood must be clearly indicated. One must be able to judge the value and bias of information for oneself.
Loyalty to citizens
It must be the needs of the citizens, not the interests of the parties involved or economic interests.
Those providing news must convey important information even if it harms their profits, regardless of whether the source is a private company, think tank, or political non-profit organization.
A place to create discussion for everyone
One should expect constructive conversation to take place between journalists and citizens. (There should be direct interaction). Discuss what is valuable regarding the information provided by journalism. Ultimately, the realization of a community.
Distribution of news
When it is necessary to obtain information at the required timing, the increase in media and the spread of information cannot be controlled. It is necessary to organize information based on context so that citizens can make deep judgments.
Those involved in journalism understand the conditions of journalism, and through that, journalism gains value. And citizens also bear responsibility.