CHAPTER 4JOURNALISM OF VERIFICATION

By Kamsa Thephavong

The 3 Key Ideas/Concepts

Discipline of VerificationLost Meaning of ObjectivityJournalism Assertion Vs. Journalism Verification

Discipline of Verification

What is Verification

“In the end, the discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction, or art.... Journalism alone is focused first on getting what happened down right....”

Journalism ignores the manipulation and persuasion of facts and infotainment and focuses on accuracy and clarity

Essential Principle of Reporting

5 Concepts

(1) Never add anything that was not there

(2) Never deceive the audience

(3) Be as transparent as possible about your methods and motives

(4) Rely on your own original reporting

(5) Exercise humility

The willingness of the journalist to be transparent about what he or she has done is at the heart of establishing that the journalist is concerned with the truth.... Too much journalism fails to say anything about methods, motives, and sources.”

Principles of Journalism ArticleSummary

This article explains 9 concept ideas about what the principles of Journalism is and from my key concept they are mentioning about Its essence is a discipline of verification and here what the article said about this key idea

Journalists rely on a professional discipline for verifying information. When the concept of objectivity originally evolved, it did not imply that journalists are free of bias. It called, rather, for a consistent method of testing information–a transparent approach to evidence–precisely so that personal and cultural biases would not undermine the accuracy of their work. The method is objective, not the journalist. Seeking out multiple witnesses, disclosing as much as possible about sources, or asking various sides for comment, all signal such standards. This discipline of verification is what separates journalism from other modes of communication, such as propaganda, fiction or entertainment. But the need for professional method is not always fully recognized or refined. While journalism has developed various techniques for determining facts, for instance, it has done less to develop a system for testing the reliability of journalistic interpretation.

Link - http://www.journalism.org

Lost Meaning of Objectivity

The Lost Meaning of Objectivity

19th century focused on Realism rather than objectivity

“Objectivity called for journalists to develop a consistent method of testing information – a transparent approach to evidence”

“It does not matter that the news is not susceptible of mathematical statement. In fact, just because news is complex and slippery, good reporting requires the exercise of the highest scientific virtues” – Lippmann

Two Methods First Method – Impartial voice

employed by many news organizations – that familiar, supposedly neutral style of newswriting – is not a fundamental principle of journalism. Rather, it is an often helpful device news organizations use to highlight that they are trying to produce something obtained by objective methods.

Second Method – Neutral voice

without a discipline of verification, creates a veneer covering something hollow. Journalists who select sources to express what is really their own point of view, and then use the neutral voice to make it seem objective, are engaged in a form of deception. This damages the credibility of the craft by making it seem unprincipled, dishonest, and biased.

Journalism Assertion vs. Journalism Verification

Journalism Assertion

Definition - “A newer model that puts the highest value on immediacy and volume and in so doing tends to become a passive conduit of information

"The journalism of assertion is fine because it has journalism of verification embedded in it.  It is reporting -- cable TV is the example.  It is reporting, but it is also opinion journalism.  It is also an event announced, a fact announced, before the truth is known.  It's all about speed.“ - Kovach

Journalism Verification Definition - A traditional model that puts the highest value on

accuracy and context.

Maybe the best way to understand my method is what I do for the students when they come into my class,” Protess explained in an interview. “I draw a set of co-centric circles on the blackboard. In the outermost circle are secondary source documents, things like press accounts … The next circle in is primary source documents, trial documents like testimony and statements. The third circle in is real people, witnesses. We interview them to see if everyone matches what’s in the documents. And at the inner circle are what I call targets – the police, the lawyers, other suspects, and the prisoner.”

David Protess explaination

Example of Verification

Verification vs Contemporary journalism

Verification - A traditional model that puts the highest value on accuracy and context.

Contemporary – A new model of journalism

Example – Digital Journalism

Link - http://pressacademy.org

Quiz Time 3 Questions

Only

Question 1What are the 5 principle of Reporting?

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Question 2

What are the differences between Journalism of Verification vs. Journalism of Assertion in a complete sentence?

Question 3

What is the Lost Meaning of Objectivity in your own words?

Work cited

Joy, A. (n.d.). Contemporary journalistic trends – a gandhian critique-thesis by aby p. joy - see more at: http://pressacademy.org/content/contemporary-journalistic-trends-–-gandhian-critique-thesis-aby-p-joy

Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2007). The elements of journalism. New York, New York: Crown Publisher.

Principles of journalism. (2013, May 5). Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles-of-journalism/