Understanding journalism

Understanding Journalism provides an indispensable guide through the processes and decisions required to produce quality journalism.Starting from `What is news?’ and moving on to consider decisions about public interest, accuracy and reliability of sources, and ethics, this book provides a model for practice centering on developing skills in critical self-reflection. It will help answer the question of `Where to begin?’ – examining the processes used by journalists to define, identify, evaluate and create journalism.Understanding Journalism offers a guide to:Finding news – exploring the nature of news and the factors influencing news judgementChoosing news – considering the power journalists exercise in selecting the issues that become news and examining the ethical implications of these decisionsGathering news – focusing on primary research – specifically interviewsConstructing news – explores the processes used in deciding what to omit and what to include in the news depending on a targeted audienceWorking With Words – explores the role of editing in journalism and how it affects media messagesUnderstanding Journalism will be essential reading for all students of journalism.