20 DEFINITIONS OF NEWS

20 DEFINITIONS OF NEWS

1.      News is the report of a current event, something that was not known, information of recent events and happenings.

2.      News as a development that has happened in the past 24 hours which was not known outside and which is of wide interest to the people and that which generates curiosity among listeners.

3.      It is information about something that has just happened or will happen soon.

4.      News is a report about recent happenings in a newspaper, television , radio or internet.

5.      News is something that is not known earlier.

6.      News is a reflection of what type of information citizens want or need, and more as a reflection of organisational, sociological and cultural norms combined with economic factors.

7.      News is a truly, concise and accurate report of the event.

8.      A news is the report of an event and what an event itself.

9.      News means the record of the event that has taken place in a particular era.

10.  News is the report of such incidents as in writing them, a first rank journalist feels satisfied”.

11.   News is in fact a synonym of the unexpected.”

12.   News is, “Everything which is extra-ordinary and unusual is called news”.

13.   News is usually a report which is not known to layman before its presentation. This report deals with such activities of man as are a source of interest, entertainment or information to the readers.

14.   News as, “any event, idea or opinion that is timely, that interests or affects a large number of people in a community and that is capable of being understood by them”.

15.  The news is current information made available to public about what is going on.

16.  News is the flow of tides of human aspirations, the ignominy of mankind and the glory of human race.

17.  News is the best record of the incredible meanness and the magnificent coverage of man.

18.  The news is current information made available to public about what is going on. 

19.  News is a specific type of information which, in contrast to tydings, was collected and processed as a good for mercenary aims.

20.  News is presents event which is extraordinary, unusual and atypical.

JOURNALISM IS NOT A PROFESSION AND CAN NEVER BE A PROFESSION. DISCUSS

Although some people see journalism as not profession, a critical look at how journalism framework is operated clears the air that journalism is indeed a profession. According to Oxford dictionary, a profession is a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and formal qualification. Per definition from Oxford dictionary, journalism to me can be classified as a profession since it is an occupation on its own; it involves prolonged training and needs formal education for someone to be fully classified as a professional journalist.

 Although some people do the work of journalism even though they are not trained journalists can never be classified as journalist just because they have not been trained and have not qualification. Just like any other profession, for example, teaching profession, some people who are not trained as a professional teachers or trained teachers, teach in various schools.

 Per the Oxford definition of profession, such people even though are paid at the end of the month do not qualified to be called professional teachers. Such incidence applies to journalism as a profession.

Sociologists although claim journalism is a craft or act that any mere person can learn and practice can never undermine journalism as not being profession. Journalism as a body is being regulated by an organization. For example, in Ghana Journalists Association regulated and control well trained profession in Ghana, If any mere person see journalism as a craft he or learns will never understand or know the principles of journalism; rights to people’s true information, social responsibility, professional integrity, plagiarism, respect for privacy and human dignity, respect for national and ethnic values, confidential etc. In Ghana for someone to be classified as a professional or well-trained journalist needs certificate from qualified educational institution such as Ghana Institute of Journalism etc.

The result of journalism being learnt as a craft is the reason why “Yellow journalism” is the reason why there many fake news in the society, all other things being equal. This is so because, they are not well trained journalists who do or practice pure journalism. Journalism goes beyond speaking or presentation or writing.

In democratic nations, journalism is being considered as the fourth arm of government that cross check, check role or watch of the activities of other arms of government including the legistrature, executive and judiciary. Such special mandate given to journalists requires a special that is well educated journalists to perform such role. “efie bia nia ens3 wom” usually stated as “efie bia mensa wom” which means” in every good situation, there as always bad exception. In various professions suck like teaching, doctors, bankers etc, people learn such without being trained from a qualified institution.

In conclusion, journalism can never be a profession to those who do not understand or know the pure work of journalism, but to me, journalism is and will always be a unique profession that needs unique people to undertake it. Journalism is a profession to me because; it has principles and code of ethics of how journalism should be practiced just like in the case of Ghana as Ghana Journalism Association regulates the activities of journalism in Ghana.

Also, anyone who wants to do or practice pure journalism needs to be trained and acquire certificate such like other profession, there are qualified institutions that give certificate to trained journalists just like Ghana Institute of Journalism, Lastly, journalism has a professional body, and example is Ghana Journalists Association in Ghana which controls and regulates the activities of journalism in Ghana.

Journalists as being described as the fourth arms of Government requires well trained personnel to undertake such unique profession who much be well trained, have certificated provided by qualified institution and much understand or know the principles, and the codes of ethics.

Anyone who learns journalism as a craft on his own is doing yellow journalism not a pure journalism. Journalism is always a profession.

REFERENCE:

1.       Canadian Journal of Media Studies, Vol. 4(1) (online)

2.       Journalism as the new knowledge profession and consequences for journalism education 2014, Vol. 15(6) 661–677  (online)

3.       Journalism as a High Profession in Spite of Itself. (online)

4.       A profession termed "Journalism" Manuel Fernández Areal, Ph. D. [C.V.] (online

5.       Why is Journalism a profession (online)

Journalists are to serve in the interest of the public. Discuss

According to McNair(1998.21) Journalism should serve in the interest of the public in every society they find themselves in. By the principles of journalism, journalists are to serve in the interest of the public but on reality, they do not.

According to Robert Niles(2007), Journalism is a form writing that  tell people about things that really happened but they might not know about already.

The Public Interest is the welfare or wellbeing of the general public and society (Wikipedia).

Journalist to serve in the interest of the public means that a journalist pursuing information that the public has the right to know. This is so because, journalists are to serve in the interest of the public, reporters undisclosed information affecting the public that the Government communication and other powerful interest hold would remain hidden. This means that public interest journalism involves playing of the watchdog role or investigation or investigating reporting. It must include other factual content that serve the public interest either by providing the platform for debates or informing the electorates.

The journalist serve obligation is to serve in the interest of the public means; it means that in practice of journalism, whatever we cover should serve in the interest of the public. These are so because, any contents a journalist will cover broadcast should be a motive of informing, educating, and entertain the public. So if a journalist is not doing these basic principles of journalism practices. It means that you are not serving under the interest of the public.

Moreover, some people have argued that, it is not every information should be made available to the public. The reason is that, should the information you are broadcasting is about national security, if you made it available to the public, the journalist might end up hurting the public at the end or you might end up destroying some norms, values, culture, etc that the society has.

The public interest is not just what the readers, listeners or viewers want either as consumers or people who want to be entertained.

It is about issues which affect everyone, even if many of them are not aware of it or even if they don’t appear to care.
Normally, it is clear to journalists and editors what is and what is not in the public interest, but sometimes it’s a complex question, particularly where privacy is concerned.
It may be useful, therefore, to try to apply a public interest test.
The first task, however, is to separate what is in the public interest from those things members of the public are interested in; they are not necessarily the same.
Many people may be interested, for instance, in celebrity and popular culture, and demonstrably less interested in the dull realities of public services. But the potential for dramatic impact on peoples’ lives makes the provision of basic services – transport, education, health, sanitation, for instance – absolutely vital matters of public concern.
Just because the public is interested in something has nothing to do with whether it is in the public interest.
The public interest is in having a safe, healthy and fully-functioning society. In a democracy, journalism plays a central role in that. It gives people the information they need to take part in the democratic process. That is why there is a public service ethic at the heart all of serious journalism.
If journalists are good at their job, and to win the rust of the public they must hold governments and other institutions to account and they must act and behave ethically.
The Media Helping Media site’s training modules on editorial ethics cover many of the issues involved.

REFERENCES:

Andrea, C.(2017). What is  public interest journalism. university of Malborne

https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/

McNair, B. (1988). The Sociology of Journalism. New York: Oxford University Press Inc.

Niles, R. What Is Journalism. Pasadena Calif.

Desmondlamptey.blogspot.com

Definitions for Journalism

11.   Journalism is an institution that has been established by the society to play a specific role. Journalism is one of the most important social, cultural, and political institutions. Journalism has been around “since people recognized a need to share information about themselves with others” (Zelizer, 2004, p. 2).

22.    Journalism is the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing or broad casting news or of conducting any news organization as a business. (Umar Farooq, 2015)

33.    Journalism is the primary means for articulating and playing out both consensus (Hall, Critcher, Jefferson, Clarke, & Roberts, 1978) and conflicts (Cottle, 2006) in society; so, news stories capture the ongoing drama of the battles between the dominant ideology and its challengers.

44     Bond F. Fraser

According to him “The term jornalism embraces all forms in which and through which the news amd the comments on the news reach the public.

55.      McNair (1998: 4), defines journalism as any authored text, in written, audio (verbal) or visual form, which claims to be (i.e. is presented to its audience as) a truthful statement about, or record of, some hitherto unknown (new) feature of the actual, social world.

66    Journalism is the primary means for articulating and playing out both consensus (Hall, Critcher, Jefferson, Clarke, & Roberts, 1978) and conflicts (Cottle, 2006) in society; so news stories capture the ongoing drama of the battles between the dominant ideology and its challengers.

77. Journalism is a writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or   description of events without an attempt at interpretation7.      Journalism is the systematic and reliable dissemination of public information, public opinion and entertainment by modern mass media of communication (Worsley and Campbell, 1957)

8.8.   Ahuja (2008: 1) says journalism is the part of the social world that is concerned with the spreading of news and views about society. 

99      As Harcup (2004) defines journalism is not a product, but a process, one that used to be seen as a one-way street but more recently has been conceived as involving an audience which will filter messages through its own experiences and understanding and arrive at its own reading.

10.   James Corey said, '... journalism simply means carrying on and amplifying the conversation of people themselves.

11.   Hibberd and Schlesinger (2002: 9) redefined  journalism as an account of the existing real world as appropriated by the journalist and processed in accordance with the particular requirements of the journalistic medium through which it will be disseminated to some section of the public.

12.   Eric Hodgins of Times Magazines defined it as “Journalism is the conveying of information from here to their accuracy, insight and dispatch and in such a manner that the truth is served and the rightness of things is made slowly, even if not immediately, more evident”.

13 Journalism is the part of activity involving writing, preparation and production of the communication messages is journalism’ (Ibid: 1)

14.  According to Webster third international Dictionary, Journalism is defined as “The collection and editing of material of current interest for presentation, publication or broadcast”.

15  Journalism is a form of writing that tells people about things that really happened, but that they might not have known about already.

Reference

Ahuja, B. N. 2008. Theory and Practice of Journalism. India: Surjeet Publications. 

Harcup, T. 2004. Journalism: Principles and Practice. London: Sage.

McNair, B (1998). The Sociology of Journalism: ARNOLD

McNair, B. Hibberd, M. and Schlesinger, P. 2002. Public Access Broadcasting and Democratic Participation in the Age of Mediated Democracy’, Journalism Studies, 3(3): 407-22

Introduction to Journalism for McKinley, Pasadena,Calif.(2007)