MCM 113 INTRODUCTION TO NEWS REPORTING & WRITING
Role of the Journalist in Society
The Reporter and His Attributes
Gathering the News
Theories of the Press
What is Journalism?
News reporting and news writing falls within the field of journalism.
Hence, I shall begin by introducing you to the word journalism.
As an occupation, journalism refers generally to writing for journals, but
in particular for newspapers/magazines. It also includes those who write
for radio and television. However journalism has expanded in meaning
and scope, to become the means by which you disseminate news and
views, and by so doing has formed itself into a limb of social awareness.
It has become an important social function, constituting the means by
which the populace receive and give information from and to the world
around them; assuming an ethical dimension and to some extent,
requires legal accountability for its performance. As such, the journalist,
in the performance of his or her duties, has to contend with various legal
and ethical issues.
Functions of the Press
The press has four traditional functions to perform and these include:
Surveillance of the environment.
Correlation of parts of society in responding to the environment.
Transmission of the social heritage from one generation to the
Next.
Entertainment.
The surveillance (information/news) function: This function refers to
the collection and distribution of information concerning events in the
environment both outside and within a particular society. Simply put,
this is the news function.
The correlation (analysis/interpretation) function: This function
refers to the interpretation of information about the environment and
prescription for conduct in reaction to these events. This is the
editorial/opinion/interpretation function.
Transmission of social heritage (cultural transmission) function:
This function focuses on the communicating of knowledge, values, and
social norms from one generation to another or from one group to another, or from
members of a group to newcomers. This is the cultural
transmission/education/socialisation function.
Entertainment function: This function includes communicative acts
primarily intended for amusement or escape, irrespective of the
instrumental effect they might have.
The Reporter
In the performance of these functions, the key personality is the reporter.
He/she chronicles events as they happen and he is rightly termed, the
unknown historian.
It is the reporter who goes out to get stories for the news, and stories
behind the news. It is the reporter who generally attends press meetings,
conferences, scenes of disaster or accidents, demonstrations and other
happenings or developments which either make or explain the news
{Alao; 1992}
It must be noted that in modern art of reporting, reporters have their
various areas of specialisation.
Special reporters are assigned to report crimes, sports, judiciary, labour,
entertainment, business and economy, foreign beat and aviation, among others.
Whether it is print or electronic media, the functions of reporters and editors are the
same: to write and shape the writing to suit the needs of readers, listeners and
viewers.
Functions of a Reporter.
He/she:
Discovers and publish information that replaces rumour and
speculation
Resists and evades government controls, especially those put in
place to prevent the public from finding out the true position of
things
Informs, and so empower, voters
Subverts those whose authority relies on a lack of public
information
Scrutinises the actions and inactions of governments, elected
representatives and public services
Scrutinises businesses, their treatment of workers and customers,
the quality of their products and their level of social
responsibility
Comforts the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, providing a
voice for those who cannot normally be heard in public
holds up a mirror to society, reflecting its virtues and vices and
also debunking its cherished myths
Attributes of a Reporter
The following are some of the attributes of a reporter:
Nose for news A reporter lives on news, he must have an instinct
for news, and that is, he should be able to identify a newsworthy
event. He should be able to generate news from anyone no,
matter how important or insignificant that person is. Randall
(2000) explains that reporters must possess this attribute for the
following reasons: one, in the positive sense of knowing what
makes a good story and the ability to find the essential news point
in the midst of dross; two, in the negative sense of not wasting
time by pursuing stories that are not worth much; and three,
ensuring that he does not miss details and make a fool of himself.
Good command of written and spoken language of his
medium To do your job well, you must have a good training in
the profession. This will enable you to learn as much about as
many things as possible. The present trend towards specialisation
in news reporting makes it mandatory for the reporters to learn as
much as possible on the subject they are assigned to such as
politics, science, labour, economics and history.
Passion for precision This means that to excel as a reporter in
the business of furnishing the public with information, you must
possess a knack for accuracy and precision which Randall (2000)
writes as meaning three things: first, recording and writing
accurately what information is gathered; ensuring that the details
recorded accurately stand true to the spirit and atmosphere of the
situation or events
context; and lastly, avoid making any or all kinds of assumptions.
Speed and accuracy As a reporter, you have to bear in mind that
your medium is competing with others in the market. To meet a
deadline, you need to race against time in gathering and
presenting news. Remember the saying that journalism is history
in a hurry.
Objectivity You need to develop the ability to be impartial,
impersonal, objective and dispassionate. You should not shift the
emphasis, twist the angle or colour the story. While you can
afford to be ruthless, remorseless in condemning unfair
happenings in feature or editorial writings news reporting differs;
what the listeners, readers want in news is fact and not your
opinion or emotional reaction.
Perseverance As a reporter, you need to persevere and go an
extra wide variety of people, while some may have news to offer,
others may have, but may not be willing to divulge news. As
such, if you are in undue haste, it may damage your investigation
by causing you to miss the vital part of the news.
Ability to establish and sustain contacts As a reporter, it is not
enough for you to know how to establish contacts; you should try
to sustain contacts. Do not despise anybody; the office assistance
or even the cleaner may be your best source in any organisation.
So, be friendly with them, as you would want to be with their
boss.
Trustworthiness: As a reporter, you need to respect the
confidence reposed in you by your source. On no account should
you divulge your source of information. Many
reporters/journalists in the world have gone to prison; rather than
divulge the source of their information. In Nigeria, such persons
include Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson.
Knowledge of working tools To facilitate your job, you do not
only need to possess some aids, you must know how to use them.
These include a camera and computer. In fact, in this age of
computer-assisted journalism, it will be odd for a reporter not to
be computer literate and also know how to search for information
on the Internet. Besides, the knowledge of shorthand will be an
added advantage.
Ethics of the profession Every profession regulates the conduct
of its practitioners in terms of duty and ethical behaviour.
Journalism involves the kind of trust that imposes strong
obligations on all those who practice it. You should keep abreast
of the ethics of the journalism profession (not only that you need
to obey the ethics.)
Versatility As a reporter you must have knowledge about the
beat you are assigned to cover. Also, you need to know about the
community where you are operating. This also means that as a
reporter, you must have knowledge of about everything and must
be able to apply yourself to whatever beat/use the editor or a
particular situation may require.
