The Elements of Journalism Critique

The Elements of Journalism, written by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel took me by surprise. I expected to pick up this book, and read a much more informative, straightforward type of writing made up of interviews, statistics, and guidelines for writing in journalism that would normally put me to sleep. I was pleasantly surprised however, that it only took me until page two to realize I was genuinely interested in what these authors had to say. Acknowledging the fact that journalists do tend to be hated and distrusted by the public made me curious as to how the authors were going to proceed; were they going to defend themselves? Or just accept the way journalists such as themselves are viewed today? Either way, they had my attention.

By referring to this book as “a fruit of examination,” rather than an argument, shows that the group of journalists who met in Cambridge back in 1997 were simply looking for a way to answer questions about the changes that had taken place in journalism, not just ridicule it. That same group of journalists began referring to themselves as the Committee of Concerned Journalists, which gave them a new, higher level of authority and made their goal clear to those who came across any of their public forums. Their mission was to decide which elements are most important and make up the compound of what journalism is. Their list consisted of:

Journalism’s  First Obligation is the Truth

Its First Loyalty is to its Citizens

It’s Essence is a discipline of Verification

Its Practitioners Must Maintain an Independence from those they Cover

It Must Serve as an Independent Monitor of Power

It Must Provide a Public Forum for Criticism and Compromise

It Must Strive to Make the Significant Interesting and Relevant

Must keep the News Comprehensive and in Proportion

Practitioners Must have an Obligation to Exercise their Personal Conscience

Citizens, too, have Rights and Responsibilities when it comes to the News

Although these elements are all significant points for journalists o be aware of, I feel as though there are some equally important elements that should have made it onto the list. For example, there is nothing in any of those ten points that bring up a journalist’s obligation to be just and/or unbiased. Whether it be to a source being used, or the place, person, or company being written about, it is always important that a journalist’s writing does not portray the subject they are writing about in an unfair way. The book even mentions that they did not include fairness, or balance due to the fact that they “are too vague to rise to the essential elements of the profession.” However it seems as though there could have been a way to involve these crucial elements.

Something I really enjoyed out this book was the way the chapters were categorized. The titles and content of the chapters each explain various important aspects of journalism (similar to the elements that are considered most important in journalism). There is also a headline in the beginning of each chapter in bold to emphasize what the chapter will be focusing on. For example, chapter seven is titled ‘Journalism as a Public Forum,’ and the bold headline reads, “Journalism must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.” Overall the way the content of this book was delivered in a way that kept myself interested, while at the same time gaining information about the history and elements that make up journalism, and valid points that I will keep in mind while writing as a journalist.