Lecture (2)
Functions of Journalism
Lecturer: Dr. Hany M. Ali
As craft, journalism involves specialization in one area
(Editorial, Design, and Printing )for the reporters & sub-editors
for instance; it entails writing to a deadline, following routines
in workplace, while respecting the divisions of labor in the
newsroom and the printing press.
In earlier times, knowledge of typewriting and shorthand were
the main skills demanded. But today, computing & DTP skills
are in demand for all areas of journalism.
As a profession, it is markedly different from other established
professions like medicine, law, managing or teaching .
While the established professions require some specialized
educational qualifications and training to be enrolled to them,
journalism does not make any such requirement essential.
There is no bar to anyone entering the profession, no matter
what one's educational background or professional experience
is .
From the very beginning, journalism has been, and still,
remain an "open" profession.
Also, journalism has no special body of knowledge that
defines the profession and marks its relationship with its
clients (readers, advertisers, advertising agencies, public
relations official, others).
As a business and trade, journalism involves publishing on a
regular basis for profit, with news considered as the primary
product .
Hence, there is the need to attract advertisers and readers,
through marketing strategies, which focus on circulation and
readership.
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What makes journalism different than other forms of
communication?
The world, and especially the online world, is awash in
communication.
The vast majority of this communication, however, is not news
and especially not journalism.
Almost 70 percent of email traffic is spam, according to web
security company Symantec .
In 2017, there was an average of 175 million tweets each day.
But almost all – 99% — consisted of “pointless babble,”
according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.
While journalism takes a much smaller space than the talk,
entertainment, opinion, assertion, advertising and propaganda
that dominate the media universe, it is nevertheless perceived
as being more valuable than most of the “stuff out there.”
That value flows from its purpose, to provide people with
verified information they can use to make better decisions,
and its practices, the most important of which is a systematic
process – a discipline of verification – that journalists use to
find not just the facts, but also the “truth about the facts.”
What is the purpose of journalism?
“The purpose of journalism, is not defined by technology, nor
by journalists or the techniques they employ
Rather, the principles and purpose of journalism are defined
by something more basic: the function news plays in the lives
of people.
News is that part of communication that keeps us informed of
the changing events, issues, and characters in the world
outside .
Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the most
important value of news is as a utility to empower the
informed.
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The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the
information they need to make the best possible decisions
about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their
governments.
Exercise
Choose three news stories from any printed
newspaper or website, and then explain the reasons and
conditions available to determine their importance.
Ask yourself the following questions :
What is the purpose behind each story?
Is it about new information?
What is the most important fact in each story?
Is it verifiable?
The exercise answer should not exceed 3 pages
Be prepared to present your answer content in no more than 5
minutes
Functions of Journalism
There is some 5 important function of journalism to inform, to
interpret and educate, to entertain. The detail of each is given
below:
Information (News Function(
This function includes all reports, news and happenings
concerning the daily life .
News helps in informing people of what is going around them
in the world .
It covers the entire serious topic that every individual has right
to know for the better living. Here topics like politics, business,
education, foreign affairs, weather forecasts etc all are
covered. News helps us to inform complicated processes in a
simple way.
Accordingly, present day journalism sees to it that along with
its announcement of a fact, event or theory, the reader or
listener also gets explanation, background material
interpretation and diagrams .
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These are all aimed at helping an individual to achieve a
better understanding of the significance of what he reads or
hears:
Interpretation of News (Education Function(
The need for interpreting and explaining the news in our day
and age is readily manifold because their own fields of
knowledge baffle even the specialists at times.
The ordinary mortal caught in a maze of economics, science
or invention needs to be led by the hand through its
complications.
Accordingly, present day journalism sees to it that along with
its announcement of a fact, event or theory, the reader or
listener also gets explanation, background material
interpretation and diagrams .
These are all aimed at helping an individual to achieve a
better understanding of the significance of what he reads or
hears:
Entertainment
Side by side with its more serious roles as a supplier of
information, interpreter and molder of opinion, journalism lays
increasing emphasis on its function as an entertainer .
Under this Function can be included all types of fiction like
comic strips stories amusing aspects of everyday life etc. It
also includes factual material sports news, theater reviews
and hobby columns, which deal with leisure .
The entertainment function of the press is very important. This
function not only competes for space and time with either
functions but it can also exert indirect influence and impart
information incidentally
Entertainment is the most important function of journalism,
because it is like a magnet, which attracts and holds a large
audiences. It plays a vital role in selling newspapers and
magazines by the millions .
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The sports pages, comic strips, astrology columns advice to
the lovelorn and crosswords are essential to the average
newspapers survival as a mass media.
Advertising
This function of the press can very easily be recognized
because it is commercially oriented.
Sometimes, (1) the advertisements also have some pubic
service message under the prestige advertisements regarding
family planning, driving safely, childcare, health care etc. The
commercially oriented advertising seeks to promote the sale of
their goods.
Advertising plays a very important role in the success of
running a mass media. (2) Advertising provides the largest
part of the revenue to finance the most elaborate technically
sophisticated press system. In fact all sorts of daily
newspapers, magazines; publications depend on advertising
revenue.
(3) Advertisement also supplies essential marketing
information to the public and helps information businessmen
of changes within their fields.
Opinion for Motives
From the earliest days journalism has sought to influence
mankind. Journalism efforts to sway the minds of men through
the printed words, cartoons and pictures as they appear in the
newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and books and through
the spoken words over the air.
It means influence the opinion of the readers through
editorials, articles, its signed column or certain special
features .
In journalism people are not only informed, guided and
entertained but they all influenced to have their opinion on
certain issues .
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In certain cases, the opinion of people is diverted to another
direction, sometimes, to negative and sometimes to positive
direction.
Once the news is published in a newspaper or broadcasted on
television then it acts as the agent of forming opinions. News
helps people to build their opinion on the information given by
the news .
For example after the incident of 11 September people were
influenced by the media and started to have a kind of
Islamophobia and started believing that all Muslims are
terrorists .
