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Chapter One : Knowledge Module One - Introduction to journalism
Completion requirements
Chapter One: Knowledge Module One
Introduction to journalism
(264203000-KM-01, NQF Level 5, 6 Credits)
In this chapter
- The purpose of this module
- The learning outcomes of this module
- The components of this module
- The content under this module, which includes:
- The media industry — types of media, global media, changes, supporting organisations, business models
- Journalism — roles, principles and mission of journalism, the ethical and practical landscapes
- Journalist — roles and responsibilities of journalists, career paths in journalism, personal and brand reputation, technology and the journalist, working with others, intellectual property (IP), copyright and plagiarism, contacts database and ideas folder
- Self-assessment
Module Purpose
The main focus of the learning in this knowledge module is to build an understanding of journalism, journalism as a career, who is a journalist, a journalist role in media (including social media), equipment and systems used by journalists.
Learning Outcomes
The learning will enable you to demonstrate an understanding of:
- The media industry
- Journalism
- Journalists
Module Details
Module Content
Welcome to the first model of the journalism occupational certificate. The aim of this module is to provide an overview of the media industry, journalism and the work of being a journalist. We will look at the media industry with particular reference to South Africa, the business models of journalism, global media and will also explore just how technology is changing the environment in which the media industry operates. We will also look at journalism itself, its function and the landscape in which it works. Finally, we focus on you, the journalist, your roles and responsibilities how to work with others, where you may end up in terms of your career, as well as some tips to ensure that you remain ahead of the game.
The media industry
Global media
Based on the exercise above, you may have noticed that media is not limited to television, radio, print and online news media. There are also music and movie producers in the mix. In the wake of globalisation and based on Internet technologies, there are a number of global media companies that control large portions of the media environment. Global media companies are mostly based (or were based in the USA). They own a range of television networks, music and film producers as well as book and magazine publishers. Global media’s parent companies set up subsidiaries around the world. Such companies include Disney, Time Warner, Sony and others.
Change and convergence
Titles or publications and broadcasters are no longer specialised in their medium of communication. For instance, newspaper titles do not only produce stories but now also produce a range of video, audio and other materials. Similarly, radio stations have websites with written content and videos. This, we term media convergence. Convergence has changed the work that media companies do in key ways, including publishing, distribution, production and even “readership”.
Evolving platforms for journalism
The platforms used for journalism have also multiplied with internet technologies. Journalists seldom work only on the platforms of their media company, but also on Web 2.0 platforms such as social media. Sometimes journalists use these platforms to source information. For instance, a celebrity or company may be tweeting about an issue or a bystander may have taken a video of a cash-in-transit heist. These can be sources for a story. Social media can also be a platform for publishing or promoting a journalist’s work. In the case of publishing work, a journalist may live tweet from a court case or release multimedia elements on social media before a full story has been created. A journalist may also promote work by media companies through tweeting and linking it via social media.
Organisations/structures in the South African media landscape
Unions
Sanef
Press Council
The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA)
The Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) is a statutory development agency for promoting and ensuring media development and diversity. It is a partnership between the South African Government and major print and broadcasting companies to assist in, amongst others, developing community and small commercial media in South Africa. It was established in 2003, in terms of the MDDA Act No. 14 of 2002 and started providing grant funding to projects on 29 January 2004.
Non-governmental organisationsThere are a number of organisations in South Africa that advocate for media freedom.
Article 19 - https://www.article19.org/
Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) - https://www.fxi.org.za/
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) - https://www.mediamonitoringafrica.org/
Business models
Traditional media have had to rework their ways of earning money. Advertising income for online news is far lower than that of traditional broadcasting and newspaper adverts. In this section, we look at what some news providers are doing to ensure that they are making money. A business model is:Description of means and methods a firm employs to earn the revenue projected in its plans. It views the business as a system and answers the question, "How are we going to make money to survive and grow?"3
Generally, news organizations are seeking to diversify their income base. Revenue streams include:Please do the Assignment No 05
- Ownership (as in sometimes owners do not require media companies to make a profit and are funded as part of a bigger company or owned by a wealthy individual)
- Merchandise or online stores
- Subscriptions
- Paywalls/ micropayments
- Requests for donations / philanthropic models
- Additional products and repurposing of content
- Native advertising
Journalism
Journalism has a critical role to play in society. This section looks at the roles, principles and mission of journalism. It also looks at the concepts of truth, balance and fairness. These principles and the role of journalism are supported by journalistic practices and supportive codes, which we’ll also explore briefly. Finally, we’ll look at the practical landscape of journalism, including how production works, the production team and production flow.
This topic accounts for 40% of the content of this module.
Roles, principles and mission of journalism
“The news” keeps us informed of the changing events, issues, and characters in the world around us. Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the foremost value of news is as a utility to empower people.
The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.
The UN human rights states in article 19 that:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
The United Nations, in this way, recognises individuals’ rights of freedom of expression and opinion. In order for opinions to be informed, citizens are often dependent on media, in particular, news media. In fact, journalism is central to democracy. Journalists hold the powerful to account and informs citizens of critical events and issues. For this reason, journalists must be ethical and principled in the discharge of their duties. They must seek to inform people to provide them with accurate information and help them make informed decisions. This does not mean telling them what to do, but providing the information for them to decide for themselves.
However, it is important that citizens also get a diverse variety of media and journalism. Some types of journalism are:
- Investigative journalism – this is when a journalist acts as a detective and tries to uncover information to tell a story.
- Narrative journalism – this is journalism that goes beyond the basics of the who, where, what, why, and how to weave together a story that unfolds like a fictional story. This type of journalism is often longer than general news journalism.
- Advocacy journalism – this is fact-based but supports a specific point of view on an issue. For instance, stories on the environment but explicitly condemns deforestation.
- Solutions journalism – this is a kind of journalism that provides facts and evidence and explores why some solutions work and may work. It is often used when covering social issues. For instance, coverage on natural disasters that show what responses work.
- Popular journalism – this is news content written for a broader audience in a manner that attempts to be engaging. It is sometimes contrasted with ‘quality journalism’. Lifestyle journalism can be popular, and tabloids are generally considered popular.
Truth, balance and fairness
Truth means reporting in a way that honestly reflects reality. A lack of truth can result from a conscious effort to obscure or lie, but can also occur inadvertently through the lack of oversight. A journalist should always try to tell the truth, as far as they know it and find out what they don’t know to avoid mistakenly failing to present the full facts. Telling the truth also means that images and stories reflect reality and are not sensationalised or misleading.
Reporters should also be balanced and represent both sides of arguments and differing versions of events. They should use language and visuals that reflects this balance. This does not necessarily mean that equal space should be given to all sides. For instance, a perpetrator may not necessarily warrant as much coverage as a victim or victims.
Reporters should also be fair in the way they present all the facts of the case and try not to lead the audience member to a conclusion that the journalist is in favour of.
Ethical landscape
The ethical landscape includes the statutory requirements of the Press Code, the code of your publication or broadcaster together with the internal ombudsman in your organisation and your own personal ethics. We will explore each of these in turn.
The Press Code
The Press Council is an independent body that deals with complaints from the public about the content of print and online media. The Press Council is responsible for creating and updating the Press Code, which all online and print media must follow. The Press Council does this to ensure that journalists and media practitioners take responsibility for their role in society. Contraventions of the Press Code may result in complaints from members of the public. It is essential that journalists follow the Press Code to prevent reputational and financial consequences. The code includes the basics of journalistic ethics including not harming people and acting in the public interest.
The organisation’s ethical code
Some media companies also have an internal ombudsman. The ombudsman is often not on the regular staff of the company, but maintains some independence. The ombudsman's job is to investigate complaints made against the journalistic standards and practices.
Personal ethical framework
A journalist should also think about their own personal ethical principles and how to apply them in the workplace. Every journalist should be guided by a desire to tell the truth, to be independent, fair and to not cause harm.
Practical landscape
Essential induction informationOne of the key things to understand about journalism is that it should be newsworthy, in other words, people must want to read, watch or listen to the stories you create. Newsworthiness must be balanced with truth-telling, a commitment to holding the powerful to account, ensuring that everything that is published is verified and independent of outside influence. This is the case regardless of what type of journalism you practise.
How media production worksMedia production typically starts with idea generation. What would make a good story? How will the story be unique and unlike other media coverage of an issue? This idea is then pitched to the news editor. Once accepted and refined, appropriate preparations are made to collect the necessary information, footage and sound bites to create the story.
In creating the first draft, the story should conform to the requirements of the newsroom in terms of length, style, language and content. The story should be appropriate to the audience and packaged in such a way to be interesting and understandable as well as adhere to the format of the station or publication. The story should be drafted or produced within the deadline constraints and technical constraints.
Review processes are undertaken to improve quality and comply with all specifications and constraints.
Final checks are conducted before submission to the next production stage. The story is tracked, and additional assistance is provided before sign-off. The journalist may then be required to engage on social media about the story. All these steps are completed in line with the production cycle of the publication.
The newsroom production teamIn creating the first draft, the story should conform to the requirements of the newsroom in terms of length, style, language and content. The story should be appropriate to the audience and packaged in such a way to be interesting and understandable as well as adhere to the format of the station or publication. The story should be drafted or produced within the deadline constraints and technical constraints.
Review processes are undertaken to improve quality and comply with all specifications and constraints.
Final checks are conducted before submission to the next production stage. The story is tracked, and additional assistance is provided before sign-off. The journalist may then be required to engage on social media about the story. All these steps are completed in line with the production cycle of the publication.
You’ll find various people in a newsroom, here are some:
- Reporter – a person who reports, especially one employed to report news or conduct interviews for the press or broadcasting media.
- Beat reporter – A beat reporter is a type of reporter who exclusively covers one field of interest, like politics, business, crime, fashion, sports or music.
- Photographer – responsible for taking photographs for the publication/ website and works to communicate the news through photographs.
- News editor – a person who is in charge of the news desk at a newspaper or broadcasting organisation and whose job it is to oversee the selection and preparation of news items for publication or broadcast.
- Sub-editor – a person who checks and edits copy, especially on a newspaper.
- Chief sub – the head of the sub-editing team.
- Social media team – organises an engagement project on a major story, working with reporters to find sources online, and to monitor audience feedback.
- Social media editor – head of the social media team.
Briefing and debriefing the news editorNewsroom resources
The news diary
Writing on deadline
Understanding the target audience
Please do the Assignment No 07Keeping your news editor informed is a core requirement of your job. In briefing your news editor:
- Be prepared to discuss your story ideas and story at the regular newsroom meeting. However, you should keep your news editor informed of any important developments that affect the story direction.
- You should be able to discuss the story in terms of its news values, the current and breaking news climate and its deadline.
- You should be able to identify any ethical or legal implications as well as the story content in terms of your organisation’s code of conduct.
- You should discuss the story in terms of its length, focus, intended placement and any visual elements that might add value to the final story.
A newsroom has a range of resources available for your use. These include reference materials, news archives, computer hardware and software, telephones and other items that may assist you in the production of your story.
Are you familiar with your organisation’s computer system? Can you produce your stories in the required format? If not, you need to spend some time getting acquainted with the system before your assessment.
Are you familiar with your organisation’s computer system? Can you produce your stories in the required format? If not, you need to spend some time getting acquainted with the system before your assessment.
Various media outlets have different formats for the news diary. The news diary’s role is to outline the stories required on any given day. They include “forward planning” diary items which are preparations for future stories or ongoing investigations and feature stories. You need to check your diary every day to see whether or not you have been assigned a story. If so, you need to ensure that you have clarified your brief with your news editor and have a complete understanding of what is required from you.
Organisations also have news diary meetings where the diaries are discussed and reporters are encouraged to present their own stories for possible inclusion. Remember to present your story ideas clearly, concisely and with the target audience, media strategy, organisation, resources and deadlines in mind.
Organisations also have news diary meetings where the diaries are discussed and reporters are encouraged to present their own stories for possible inclusion. Remember to present your story ideas clearly, concisely and with the target audience, media strategy, organisation, resources and deadlines in mind.
Producing stories on time is essential in the deadline-driven media world. Apart from the need to produce news while it is still “new”, media organisations also have a complex production process that requires several people – news editors, sub-editors, layout and design editors, revise editors and proof-readers – to complete their work according to a set schedule. Stories which are not produced on time throw this schedule into disarray – leading to unnecessary deadline pressure and even mistakes in the final product.
Reporters who miss deadline will find their stories “spiked” – killed – rather than risk a snarl-up in production. Use your time management skills to ensure that you complete your work timeously.
Reporters who miss deadline will find their stories “spiked” – killed – rather than risk a snarl-up in production. Use your time management skills to ensure that you complete your work timeously.
Media keep track of their target audiences through extensive research on their likes and dislikes. Each year the All Media and Products Survey (APMS) is produced by the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) to find out what South Africans are reading and buying.
Different media’s target audiences plays a critical role in directing advertising to specific media outlets. Advertisers want to spend their money where they will get the most value. All media companies produce content for particular audiences; your organisation is no different. However, not all news
Different media’s target audiences plays a critical role in directing advertising to specific media outlets. Advertisers want to spend their money where they will get the most value. All media companies produce content for particular audiences; your organisation is no different. However, not all news
media is driven solely by advertising. News media such as the public broadcasting services also have a public mandate to fulfil.
Target audiences are identified through four key indicators, among others:
Producing news in the correct format for your publication or programmeTarget audiences are identified through four key indicators, among others:
- Gender
- Age
- LSM (Living Standards Measurements including income and education)
- Geographic area
Media organisations want to differentiate their products so that readers, viewers and listeners have a clear style to the product they choose. Some newspapers – such as weekly publications – offer in-depth analysis of news while others regard themselves as newspapers of record or storytellers. The same is true for broadcast programming.
The production flow
The production flow differs between different news producers. It may start with a pitch at a diary meeting. Once the story idea is refined a reporter will go out and collect the necessary information, including multimedia elements. While out doing the story she/he may be required to create and post social media content of the unfolding story. Once the story is packaged and subbed it may be sent to a news editor or producer. Any additional multimedia elements may be produced. Layout and design may then be done. Then the story gets broadcast or published and/or goes live.
Journalists
Now that you have a bit of an understanding of the media industry and how journalism works, we will look at journalists themselves. In this section, we’ll look at the roles and responsibilities of journalists as well as journalism as a career and some considerations around this.
This section accounts for 20% of the content under this module.
On a daily basis, journalists interview experts and others, they search through documents and other sources of information, they visit the scene of events, such as crime scenes, where protests are happening, or courts. Journalists educate the public about events and issues and how they affect their lives. They ensure that the information they have gathered is accurate and factual. While doing so and afterwards, they create content that may be written, audio, video, including photographs and other images. They post to social media and submit stories for publication or broadcast. Specifically, they:
- Collect information related to current events – they are like researchers
- Verify information – they are like auditors
- Package and communicate information – they are producers, often multimedia producers
- Tell stories – they are storytellers
- Post on social media, both during the unfolding of events and to let people know about stories – they are aggregators
- Engage on social media and other platforms with the audience – they are involved in a conversation
- Ensure that the collection of information is in line with legal and ethical guidelines (these are not always the same thing – as you’ll learn)
Journalism graduates may end up in a range of occupations, such as:
- Academics
- Authors
- Beat or specialist reporters/ bloggers, for example technology or food reporting
- Brand specialists or in marketing
- Communicators in a range of industries
- Copy editors
- Copy writers
- Editors
- Graphics designers
- Investigative journalists
- Magazine journalists
- Multimedia producers
- News anchors or hosts of chat shows
- News directors
- News editors
- Newspaper reporters
- Online content producers for a non-news company
- Online journalists
- Product writers
- Proof readers
- Publishers
- Radio producers
- Researchers
- Social media managers
- Sub-editors
- Technical writers
- Working for non-profits
Your reputation and brand reflect on your company's reputation and brand. In your job and in working on social media you need to ensure if that you do things that help rather than harm your career. Some media personalities may build their careers on being “shock jocks”, but this is a risky strategy especially if you are employed in a news organisation. People need to trust you. Some tips for developing your brand online and growing your online following are:
Technology and the journalist- Consider how you want to be seen based on who you are and what you think you have to offer.
- Develop some key messages what you want to say about yourself as a professional.
- Make sure that you always stay in line with how you want to be seen and how your company wants to be seen.
- Avoid giving opinions or talking about issues that you do not know a lot about.
- Listen and then speak, don’t bombard your colleagues, the audience or the public with your content, but engage with others about their work and what they care about.
- Tell people why they should care, whether it is an article you have written or just a post you're making, make sure it's clear why people should be interested in what you are saying.
- Be consistent if you start tweeting every day, keep tweeting every day. If your blog once a week keep doing so and release your blog at the same time so that your audience knows what to expect.
Journalists used to go out to find a story with paper and a pen. They used to keep all their contacts on paper or in a book. Now, almost all journalists need a cellphone that may double as a notebook and pen or her/his camera and recorder. It also allows them to post on social media and be a device on which they can write and submit stories.
Please do the Assignment No 09
Journalist and teams
No journalist produces a story by him or herself. A journalist has to pitch an idea to the news editor to proceed with a story, she or he may be dependent on colleagues for information sometimes. They work with social media managers for social media content, proofreaders and sub-editors for written content, and an online editor for online stories. A journalist may also work with a designer or layout sub to ensure the story looks right online or in print. They may work with a photographer, videographer and producer for audio and visual content. They are responsible to the news editor and ultimately the editor for deadlines and quality. Less frequently, journalists may work with advertising or circulation departments or other members in the organisation. Journalists need to be team players.
When you produce content while working for a company, the company often owns copyright of the content. The content has been paid for by your salary. When posting on social media, the producer generally retains the right to the content, but journalists should always be on the lookout for changes in terms and conditions of the platform. Journalists can use other people's copyrighted work in accordance with fair use principles. If you are unsure of whether you are allowed to use copyrighted material or not, rather do not.
Journalists should not plagiarise the work of others. Plagiarism includes quoting a written document without citing the source and using the ideas or information of somebody else’s without citing the source. Plagiarism can even include using long sections of somebody else's work that you have cited without their permission. If you are unsure if something constitutes plagiarism rather don't use it or consult the company lawyer.
Journalists should not plagiarise the work of others. Plagiarism includes quoting a written document without citing the source and using the ideas or information of somebody else’s without citing the source. Plagiarism can even include using long sections of somebody else's work that you have cited without their permission. If you are unsure if something constitutes plagiarism rather don't use it or consult the company lawyer.
Journalists may only be as good as the contacts and ideas they have. A journalist with good contacts can expose all manner of stories that are of public interest. Sources are often cultivated over years and a journalist must work to build and keep contacts, and to ensure that their details are updated. A source for one story can be useful on a completely different story. Contact details should be backed up and kept secure to ensure that sources’ details are not exposed should someone search your cellphone.
An ideas folder is a good idea too. This can be on an app on your phone and computer or in a notebook. Whenever you have an idea, write it down. It may not be the right time to write the story when you first have the idea, but it could be at a later stage. Ideas in your folder give you a place to start when you may be experiencing a story drought.
An ideas folder is a good idea too. This can be on an app on your phone and computer or in a notebook. Whenever you have an idea, write it down. It may not be the right time to write the story when you first have the idea, but it could be at a later stage. Ideas in your folder give you a place to start when you may be experiencing a story drought.
Last modified: Thursday, 18 May 2023, 6:33 PM
