Chap 2, Kovach and Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism

1. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR
Truth:
The First and Most Confusing Principle

2. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
What is the purpose of journalism?
The purpose of journalism is to provide citizens
the information they need to be free and self-governing.
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

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What is journalism’s first loyalty?
Journalism’s first loyalty is to citizens.
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

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What is journalism’s first obligation?
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR
Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.
This disinterested pursuit of truth is what sets
journalism apart from all other forms of communication.

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Why is the principle of truth so confusing?
•The belief that “perception is reality” seems to prove
itself over and over in everyday experience
•It has become common to accept the conclusion that
truth, in the philosophical sense, is indeterminable
•But mostly it is because…
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

6. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
…Truth—even the functional truth that journalists
pursue—is extraordinarily complex.
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR
All but the simplest stories involve layers of truth and falsity.

7. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
So…what distinguishes journalistic truth?
•It is practical, not philosophical.
•It is based on getting the facts right, but it is more than
that. It is making sense of the facts.
•This making sense of the facts is a process.
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

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Journalistic truth emerges over time
Journalistic truth results from a process that strips away
misinformation and disinformation
•Early stories concentrate on getting the facts right.
•Later stories begin the process of making sense out of
the facts.
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

9. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
What do Kovach and Rosenstiel mean by…
•Journalism of verification?
•Journalism of assertion?
•Journalism of affirmation?
•Journalism of aggregation?
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

10. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
In an age flooded with information,
what does the public need from journalists?
“The press needs to…sift out the rumor, the innuendo, the
insignificant, and the spin….Give citizens identifiable
sources and verify the information, highlighting what is
important to know and filtering out what is not…. [People]
need an answer to the question: ‘What here can I believe?’
The role of the press, then, in this new age is to answer the
question: ‘Where is the good stuff?’” (48-49)
Synthesis and verification
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR

11. cm 135 an introduction to journalisml
Memorable Words
“It is no longer enough to report the fact truthfully. It is now
necessary to report the truth about the fact.”
—1947 Hutchins Commission Report
“I can think of nothing more gallant…than attempting to
get at the facts; attempting to tell things as they really
are…. Reality, though never fully attained, can be defined.
Reality is that which, when you don’t believe it, it doesn’t
go away.”
—Peter Vierick, historian
FALL 2013 BRUCE CLARY, INSTRUCTOR