Journalists

1. Journalists Rights, Roles & Responsibilities

2. Journalist’s Rights Where does a journalist get the right to report the news?

3. Ask Yourself • What are a journalist’s duties? What’s his/her job? • What are a journalist’s obligations? What does he/she owe his/her audience? • What are a journalist’s rights? What “special treatment” does he/she get?

4. First Amendment • “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

5. Freedom of the Press • Why are First Amendment freedoms important to our society? • Should press freedom be unrestricted? • Plusses? • Minuses?

6. 1st Amendment in the Internet Age • Freedom of speech applies to all U.S. citizens. • “Public journalism” • YouTube, blogs, Web postings

7. Roles of the Journalist What do journalists provide to a community?

8. 3 Roles • Spotlight • Database • Open Forum

9. Role #1: Shine a Spotlight • Examine people & events • Who’s important / influential? • What’s happening? • Set an agenda for publicissues by the stories theychoose to cover & thosethey choose to ignore • Give priority or prominence to some stories over others

10. What to Spotlight? Decisions are based on journalist’s efforts to be citizen’s advocate in examining activities of public officials. Journalists do so by: • providing information • acting as a lookout

11. Providing Information • Daily events • Things happen that attract media spotlight • EX: girl disappears; leads to stories on chat room threats

12. Acting as a Lookout • Report on activities of business/government/elsewhere that might have an impact on our lives • Good impact—this great thing is coming (new technology) • Bad impact—Howard Aim reports (watchdog) • “Sentries”—looking for future trends

13. Role #2: Database Database = large amount of information that can be accessed in a variety of ways • Interpreting & Explaining • Entertaining & Amusing • Keeping a Record

14. Interpreting & Explaining • Help readers & listeners understand & interpret the news of the day • What an election means • Offer opinions, commentaries • Different from “editorials,” which are paper’s opinion on an issue

15. Entertaining & Amusing • comics, crossword puzzles, advice columns, etc. • entertainment reviews • “light” features (Chad on “Dancing with the Stars”)

16. Keeping a Record • Recorder of public data • Sports statistics • Weather forecast • Stock market details • Interest rates • Maps • Charts & graphs

17. Role #3: Open Forum • Media works to create a sense of community • “Public journalism”—a style of journalism that seeks to revitalize public life and to promote a sense among members of the community that their institutions actually belong to them. • seeks out “ordinary” people—their opinions & their involvement • public service projects that go beyond reporting to provide hands-on community leadership