Communication Within Journalism

On a daily basis, humans communicate with one another through personal and mass communication. Personal communication is two-way conversation between small groups of people. Mass communication, in contrast, is one-way contact directed towards large audiences of people. Accordingly, journalism is in the business of communication, which builds a bridge from personal to mass communication, and puts truth to pen. According to Kovach and Rosenstiel (Defensor, 2006), "[Journalism] is that part of communication that keeps us informed of the changing events, issues and characters in the world outside" (p. 5). The production of journalism requires a thorough organizational structure that communicates well. It is dependant upon sources, words, and art, and displays itself through print and online structures.

Journalism has a critical role in society because of its purposes to demonstrate the values of society, provide information, and keep the government in check. Accurate communication helps journalists perform these functions. They walk a tight line, however, because journalism can also be a dangerous weapon, and when used improperly it has negative consequences. Some of the common dangers of unbridled journalism are false promotion of information, distortion of truth, and advancement of biased material. Without regulations and ethical restraints, it could harm society. Therefore, it must be controlled in a way that does not hinder its ability to perform its primary functions. With so much riding on journalism's role in society, it is useful for citizens to understand its functions, purposes, risks, and responsibilities. Moreover, they should be aware of how journalism meets these guidelines in their society. This paper examines the relationship between journalism and communication, by looking at its production, possibilities, and responsibilities. Production of Journalism

Journalism is produced through the effort of separate work related roles within a news organization. Some of the key roles in journalism staffs are news sources, writers, photographers, cartoonists, editors, newspaper designers, and web designers, whose combined work produce print and online journalism. Effective communication among these staff members can help increase the quality of the finished product.

Newspapers use news sources to get information. Hannabuss (1995) suggests that some common news sources include news agencies, experts, contacts, files, and additional journalistic works. These sources are vital for multiple reasons. First of all, they often provide notification. For example, news agencies commonly inform journalists about breaking news. Secondly, news sources frequently provide journalists with concrete details for stories. In turn, their provision of information finalizes the process by validating the stories. Readers want to know what happened based on evidence. Therefore, journalists have to convince them through eye witness accounts, expert opinions, and records. These types of sources are key elements in producing stories that are accepted by society. Communication intercedes by directly linking all three of these processes in which journalists interact with news sources.

Writers play an important role in journalism, because they direct communication towards society. Attfield, Blandford, and Dowell (2003), say "Writing is amongst the most common tasks within which information seeking is embedded" (p. 1). In fact, they are responsible for the majority of the content in journalism as they take the work done with news sources and turn it into stories. News reporters, feature writers, and columnists are three common types of writers. News reporters are expected to report unbiased facts, while functioning as an objective channel of communication. They write about what they are told and personally experience, using their own words, as well as direct quotes, to supplement the stories. Reporters are also pressured with deadlines. Usually, they must write about events soon after they happen for publication the next day. In contrast, feature writers study a topic for a longer period of time, while writing a more thought out story. Their work usually appears more like a story than a report; however, they too, are expected to be objective. Columnists, on the other hand, are allowed to be entirely subjective, projecting their personal opinions into the stories they write. These writers have become very popular and at the same time controversial among a vast landscape of readers for this style of writing. Regardless of position, though, writing principles apply to all writers. One noteworthy principle states that writers may only count on small amounts of their stories being read. Therefore, journalists write in a logical style, attempting to put the most important information towards the beginning, while hoping to communicate something interesting to the readers before they get distracted or uninterested.

Newspapers that are black and white are not read all over anymore. Presently, they realize that a picture is worth a thousand words. As a result, they have been using art to attract readers for hundreds of years. In fact, the first newspaper cartoon is believed to have been published by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 (Harrower, 2002). Photographs and cartoons are two common forms of newspaper art. Photographers engage in photojournalism, which is the art of taking photographs that tell an actual story. They primarily take photographs of natural occurrences in a professional manner that accurately represents the scene. Occasionally, however, photographers may take studio shots as well, which are posed photographs. These photographs are commonly seen in news stories and photo spreads. Cartoonists, likewise, draw art that goes into the newspaper to provide text relief in an amusing form. They perform a vast amount of tasks, such as photo illustrations, editorial cartoons, commentary drawings, and caricatures. Their tasks are difficult and require top-notch performance from talented professionals. Clearly, art has progressively revolutionized journalism, as it communicates a story through sight.

Editors are responsible for leading a team of newspaper staff to success. They have to make sure their newspapers are marketable in content. Burke (2007) quoted Pontin saying that he believes, "People will go to them expecting the best information and as long as that information remains quality, those readers will continue to return" (p. 1). Therefore, they must ensure that the entire news organization operates smoothly, by doing everything from planning to correcting. This requires a great deal of communication between themselves and other staff members. Their ability to lead can be seen in the assignment of staff members to cover the events they feel will make the best stories. Furthermore, editors will usually estimate the lengths of the stories and sizes of the photographs before they receive them, based on the news events they assign. This allows them to begin mentally planning for the next edition. Editing takes a great deal of experience and expertise, and that is why editors are the leaders of newspaper production staffs.

Newspaper designers decide how the newspaper is going to look. They are responsible for making sure the newspaper is marketable in appearance. They must decide where every picture, story, and headline will fit. This is similar to putting a puzzle together, and if one piece has to be changed it affects the whole page. Through this, they visually communicate to readers, hoping to make a good impression. There are many tedious guidelines to follow when designing, making their job difficult and demanding, but designers are talented and creative enough to get the job done. Although it may not come natural to all of them, they learn and grow at this process with experience. Their jobs are important, since they are the final channel of communication that a newspaper goes through before it reaches the readers.

Web designers, the editors of the Internet, create company websites. Their tasks can be complicated, and require a mastery of desktop and web design computer skills; however, they do not have the same daily time pressures print journalism staffs have. Since the Internet is becoming increasingly popular, their jobs are becoming more important, because they must communicate effectively with large audiences of readers.

All roles within journalism organizations need to communicate frequently and effectively among one another. Although staff members, such as writers, photographers, editors, and designers perform separate roles, they depend on one another. This can be seen through the web of interaction among these roles. Writers depend on photographers to visually improve their stories to make them more attractive to readers. Conversely, photographers depend on writers to compose stories which will effectively supplement and accurately portray their photographs. Meanwhile, both depend on editors to adequately correct their work so that it is presented as well as possible, yet not diminished. Similarly, all roles depend on newspaper designers to make their work look its best, so that it is at the pinnacle of its effectiveness. Editors and designers, in contrast, depend on the other roles to provide them with enough high-quality material for the newspaper development. Clearly, there is a need for an effective form of communication among staff members.

The connections between these different roles in journalism can be confusing, but there is a way to pull it all together. Buck Ryan, a brilliant newspaper analyst, created a newspaper development process called the Maestro Concept. Harrower suggests this is a way of integrating the separate work done by writers, photographers, cartoonists, editors, and designers. In this system, the necessary staff members meet before performing their jobs, using a complex form to coordinate a sketch of how the newspaper will look and what each staff member needs to do to accomplish the task (2002). This system is an excellent means of communication among members of a journalism organization, saving time and preventing horrendous productions.

News is the centerpiece of journalism, because journalism revolves around investigating, processing, and outputting news. In these separate phases of journalistic production, communication can be seen with sources, staff, and society. Print journalism focuses on the output of news in print format. This includes any writing in print with a journalistic style, such as newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and brochures. Since newspapers are particularly common, it is useful to understand how they are produced, the different elements of a newspaper, and what it takes for news to be published.

Newspapers are produced through the collaborative work of the entire staff, who work together to produce a timely and complete newspaper, filled with information. The process begins with communication between news sources and the newspaper. After the initial contact is made, Harrower (2002) says, "Editors assign reporters, photographers and graphic artists to make concepts understandable in both words and pictures" (p. 152). Once finished, writers and photographers give their work to editors, who correct it. The editors then relay the finished products to designers who devise the newspaper's appearance. This detailed process can be accomplished successfully with a combination of experience, diligence, and communication.

Newspapers are filled with many major and minor elements which communicate with readers. Some of the elements are familiar enough that readers easily recognize them, but other elements can be overlooked; yet with any of these elements absent, newspapers would be noticeably different. In specific, the front page must be the most dynamic, because it markets the whole newspaper. Therefore, designers give special attention to that page.

Minor content on front pages works subtly to comfort readers. The flag is the logo that identifies the specific newspaper, and is commonly found towards the top. While the folio, which can also be found at the top, shows its details. Many readers expect indexes to give them a detailed listing of what is inside the newspaper. Refers and teasers both promote stories inside newspapers and may be found on front pages as well.

Newspapers are filled with main content as well, such as stories and photographs, which are responsible for the majority of the communication that newspapers send to readers. This is the meat of the newspaper - the actual depiction of news - because stories are the most notable element in newspapers. They come in different forms, such as news stories, feature stories, and columns. Those that cover a popular topic may be placed by sidebars, which are similar stories that help readers get a broader understanding of the topic. Additionally, all stories receive unique headlines to describe the stories they accompany in a small phrase or sentence. Accordingly, decks and summaries are two similar elements that go directly after the headline, further explaining the article. Bylines identify the author and accompany most stories. Furthermore, each story that is continued on another page is given a jumpline, which is a numbering system designed to help readers find where the story finishes. Many articles are also accompanied by a photograph, which will frequently give a line of credit to the photographer. Cutlines are text captions that clarify a photograph and can be found underneath most of the photographs they explain. Clearly, these elements help newspapers communicate satisfactorily with modern readers.

Although newspapers are huge works filled with information, they are limited in the number of events they can cover because of costs, space, and time. In an attempt to draw the largest possible readership, they try to pick the most reader appealing material. Consequently, it can be tough for news to meet publication demands; however, because journalism is filled with news, select stories that will interest readers are published. Namely, current news is the most likely type of news to have a place in the newspaper. Old news tends to be boring and irrelevant, while future news, such as forecasts, is only effective when used sparingly. Furthermore, Hannabuss (1995) suggests that news that is significant, meaningful, and relevant relates to readers' interests, while dramatic and surprising news also attracts readers. Generally, the news that communicates what society wants to hear gets primary attention.

Table 1: News Requirements for Publication

Requirements:

Descriptions:

Significant

News that is important to readers.

Meaningful

News that matters to readers.

Relevant

News that relates to readers.

Dramatic

News that is exciting to readers.

Surprising

News that is startling to readers.

Adapted from: Hannabuss, S. (1995). The study of news. Library Management, 16(1), 30.

Journalism is an ancient practice that has been produced in print format for hundreds of years. Its landscape, however, is constantly improving. The internet is the most recent trend of improvement. In fact, as it has become increasingly accessible, its popularity as a communication medium has grown among diverse audiences. Naturally, the journalism industry has recognized this opportunity to transport its business to a new medium that will reach more readers.

Following this potentially rewarding adventure, many journalism organizations have virtually recreated their newspapers digitally over the internet. In doing so, they list many articles from their print editions. Furthermore, on the web, space becomes less of a constraint, and newspapers are able to list more content. Therefore, readers may typically find previously posted articles that are still listed on the website. It is organized conveniently for readers, because the older news is placed towards the back and the newer news towards the front, since current news is preferred. This is helpful for readers who want to find old information, while satisfying many readers who only care about current news. Additionally, websites may include articles that are not found in their print editions. The internet effectively helps newspapers communicate more.

Weblogging, commonly called blogging, is another popular form of internet journalism that has taken advantage of this opportunity. According to Deagon (2005) Sullivan says, "[It] is changing the media world and could, I think, foment a revolution in how journalism functions in our culture" (p. A05). This new form of journalism can be fulfilled by newspaper staff as an additional outreach. In this case, it is similar to writing a digital column. When the newspapers provide journalists to produce internet journalism it is more likely to have a professional quality. In contrast, citizens who want their voices heard may also blog. When this happens, however, the results can be unpredictable. It is called citizen journalism. Sometimes it accurately conveys the opinions of society from a first-hand source, but many times the quality of their work is poor. The inconsistent reliability among these bloggers may cause readers to doubt the entire practice. However, while their publications can be misleading and false, formal institutions are trying to fix that by establishing principle requirements. Either way, it is causing such a revolution in journalism that in the future, print newspapers may cease to exist.

Furthermore, photographs are not tied to print journalism only, but are also being used in internet journalism. Not only are individual photographs added to stories to make the visibility more reader friendly, but newspaper websites are also beginning to provide photograph galleries for readers to interact with. This photographic revolution over the internet is attracting many readers.
Purposes of Journalism

In journalism, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. While its production is intriguing, its purpose is profound, because it was established to communicate important information. It is a process that takes mere words and orchestrates them in a way that captures the attention of readers. Therefore, it is much more than simply another occupation in America. In fact, it functions to demonstrate dominant cultural values, inform society, and keep the government in check.

Just as the government is intended to represent the political viewpoints of American society, journalism represents some of the values of society. It may even communicate the current stage of American life through its news coverage and story choice. In order to sell newspapers, sometimes they will say what the majority of society wants to hear. In doing so, they demonstrate the collective values of society. This can be seen through the events that journalists cover, the stories newspapers choose to print, and any political biases they display. When journalists are truthful and accurate, some of society's values may be seen.

If the stories are reliable, the actions and events that occur in society show a picture of how parts of society behave. Their stories are supplemented with interviews from third party sources, as well, whose quotations may show a well rounded view of society's opinions and values. Although this way of observing the values of the American society may not display the values of minorities in terms of these values, it does give readers a fairly clear picture of the dominant values that the majority of Americans share.

The second purpose of journalism is to inform society. According to Odeyemi (2006) Dare says, "The Press is the principal institution to carry out the information dissemination that is essential to a sound democracy" (p. 1). By recording occurrences, journalism does just this, helping people stay informed. This is important because America is a technologically advanced society that relies on information to keep running soundly. Therefore, journalism aids society by functioning as a source of communication.

Information output is also important because it keeps the government in check. Eggington (2005) adds, "The essential role of the free press is to hold the government and other institutions to be accountable for their actions" (p. 1). Journalists' investigative work and output can help prevent the government from disregarding the Constitution; journalists also expose any injustices. They can look out for the good of society by searching the landscape for events and portraying what they find truthfully and accurately. By doing this, they live up to the purpose of journalism.
Risks and Responsibilities of Journalism

Journalism may be the protector of society, but it can also present its own risks when corrupt people use it to promote personal agendas. In certain cases, it can be flawed with bias and misleading information. Unfortunately, it is common to see stories that twist the truth. Furthermore, newspapers may overemphasize insignificant news, and leave out significant news. When this happens, journalism is not fully performing its duties.

It can remain responsible to society, though, by maintaining a balance between the purpose and ethics of journalism. While there may be no step-by-step process to follow, by acting with integrity journalists can best perform their responsibilities to society. Eggington (2005) supports this by stating, "[Every] journalist needs to have integrity...in order to practice good journalism" (p. 1). Therefore, they should communicate honestly. Rather than distorting stories, they should display the news accurately, creating stories that are proportionate to society's actual occurrences. Those who aspire to be trustworthy communicators by acting ethically are usually respected.
Conclusion

Journalism is a complex production. New sources, writers, photographers, editors, and designers intermingle with one another to create a masterpiece of expressed news. The Maestro Concept enhances communication among these roles and helps generate vivid ideas and put them into action. While it is difficult to get published, fresh news that is significant, interesting, relevant, dramatic, and surprising is more likely to make publication (Hannabuss, 1995). New outlets have communicated in print for many years. This includes newspapers and magazines. The recent success of the Internet has convinced this industry to move there.

Journalism is more than its production indicates, though; it is a respected American establishment because of three purposes. It is called to demonstrate the values of society, inform, and keep the government in check. It must, however, be balanced, because it can also harm society. Journalists can achieve this balance by performing their duty to society responsibly and maintaining integrity.

References

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Burke, J. (2007). "Editors are like the bartender at your favorite bar." Retrieved February 24, 2007 from www.editorsweblog.org.

Deagon, B. (2005). Surveys say bloggers not yet big factor for mainstream. Investor's Business Daily, A05. Retrieved February 15, 2007 from www.lexisnexis.com.

Defensor, B. (2006). One man's meat; journalism and mass media. BusinessWorld, 5. Retrieved February 14, 2007 from www.lexisnexis.com.

Eggington, B. (2005). "Journalism can be a risky profession." Africa News, 1. Retrieved February 15, 2007 from www.lexisnexis.com.

Hannabuss, S. (1995). The study of news. Library Management, 16(1), 30-34. Retrieved February 7, 2007 from www.emeraldinsight.com.

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Odeyemi, D. (2006). Views papers or newspapers. AllAfrica Global Media, 1.Retrieved February 15, 2007 from www.lexisnexis.com.