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 - explores the nature of news and the factors influencing news judgement * choosing news - considers the power journalists exercise in selecting the issues that become news, looking at the ethical implications of these decisions * gathering news - focuses on primary research - specifically interviews * constructing news - explores the processes used in deciding what to omit and what to include in the news depending on a targeted audience * working with words - considers the role of editing in journalism and how it affects media messages

Table of Contents

PART ONE: FROM KNOWING HOW TO BEING ABLE Introduction Journalism in Action Journalism as Decision Making PART TWO: JOURNALISM IN ACTION Finding News Choosing News Gathering News Evaluating News Sources Constructing News Editing News Working with Words