Midterm Review

Question 1

Journalistic Writing

Answer 1

• Precise
• Efficient
• Evocative
• Clear
• Original
• Musical

Question 2

News

Answer 2

New information about a subject of some public interest that is shared with some portion of the public

Question 3

1830s

Answer 3

First cheap “Penny Papers” in United States. Emphasized “human interest” and “sensationalism.”

Question 4

1880s

Answer 4

“yellow journalism”

Question 5

1920s

Answer 5

Tabloids

Question 6

1980s and 1990s

Answer 6

Tabloid television: cable networks and various entertainment news and reality programs

Question 7

2000s

Answer 7

Online: TMZ, Gawker, reality TV, every possible interest and obsession

Question 8

Important Periods of Transition

Answer 8

1830s-40s - Arrival of the telegraph

1880s - Drop in price of paper and influx of new immigrants (new audience)

1920s - Invention of radio, and rise of the tabloid and culture of gossip and celebrity

1940s-50s - Arrival of television and the Cold War

Current - Advent of cable, followed by explosion of the internet/digital media

Question 9

Awareness Instinct

Answer 9

Crave news out of basic instinct

Question 10

Walter Lippmann

Answer 10

Lippmann was critical of any model of democracy that placed its faith and power in the hands of the public. Believed that people were fundamentally driven by self-interest.

Question 11

John Dewey

Answer 11

Expanded argument into The Public and its Problem challenging Lippmann’s conception of democracy as off-base

Question 12

Lippmann vs Dewey

Answer 12

Goal of democracy was not to manage public affairs efficiently, Dewey argued.

Dewey believed that if people were allowed to communicate freely with one another, democracy would be the natural outgrowth of the human interaction rather than a device for making government more efficient.

Question 13

Power of Truth

Answer 13

Truth is a weapon against oppression and manipulation.

Question 14

19th Century Sensationalism

Answer 14

19th century journalism sought its first mass audience by relying on sensation, scandal, thrill-seeking and celebrity worship.

Question 15

19th Century Realism

Answer 15

Realism: idea that if reporters simply dug out facts and ordered them together, truth would reveal itself.

Realism emerged at a time when journalism was separate from political factions and becoming more accurate.

Question 16

20th Century Reliance on Realism

Answer 16

In early 20th century, journalists began to realize that realism and reality – or accuracy and truth – were not so easily equated.

• Lippmann:
  
  • Function of news to signalize an event.
  • Function of truth to bring to light the hidden facts and set them in relation to make a picture of reality upon which men can act.
  • Journalism education should transform to form the cornerstone of evidence and verification.

Question 17

Journalistic Truth

Answer 17

More than mere accuracy. Sorting process that gets us to interpret events.

Question 18

Verification

Answer 18

Essence of journalism is the discipline of verification. Importance of sorting through rumor, gossip, failed memory, and manipulative agendas to capture events as accurately as possible.

Question 19

Practices for Verification

Answer 19

• Seeking multiple witnesses to events
• Disclosing as much detail as possible about sources
• Asking many sides for comment

Question 20

Verification Techniques

Answer 20

Skeptical editing, accuracy checklist, assume nothing, be cautious with anonymous sources.

Question 21

Evolution of Independence

Answer 21

20^th century, journalists swapped partisan loyalty. Journalism will not harbor a hidden agenda.

Question 22

New Wave of Investigative Reporting

Answer 22

Journalists reviving a tradition of pursuing and exposing corruption after WWII.

Question 23

Watchdog Principle

Answer 23

Journalists serve as an independent monitor of power.

Question 24

Historical Highlights of Investigative Journalism

Answer 24

20^th century – muckrakers (gave voice to reform at the local, state, and federal levels).

Question 25

3 Forms of Investgative Reporting

Answer 25

1. _Original_ investigative reporting 2. _Interpretive_ investigate reporting 3. Reporting on _investigations_

Question 26

Original Investigative Reporting

Answer 26

Uncovering and documenting activities that had been previously unknown.

Question 27

Interpretive Investigative Reporting

Answer 27

Brings facts together in a more complete context to provide a deeper understanding to the public.

Question 28

Reporting on Investigations

Answer 28

Involves a reporter developing a story from a leak of information in an official investigation already underway.

Question 29

Undercover Reporting

Answer 29

Duty to reveal undercover methods to one’s audience and explain why that approach was needed. K-R argue that when journalists mislead or go undercover, the info must be vital to public to justify it.

Question 30

Promise of Truth and Accuracy

Answer 30

The promise of truth and accuracy began to form with the birth of democratic theory. It became a powerful part of even the earliest journalism marketing.