Chapter 9:Make the News Comprehensive and

ProportionalBy: Zachary Schmidt

Is this comprehensible

Journalism is suppose to be comprehensible

Is this comprehensible

Microsoft owns three states including: Iowa, Minnesota, and Idaho

Journalism has to be comprehensible and TRUE.

Journalist are the Map Makers

Journalism creates a map for citizens to navigate society

A journalist who focuses on celebrity scandals and sensational trials because they think they will sell are destroying the creditably of the map-maker(which is the subject of journalism)

A journalist who leaves out the important news is like a map maker who fails to tell the traveler about the other roads.

Thinking of journalist like a map maker makes us realize the importance of accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. London: Atlantic, 2003. Print.

Map Makers can’t fail

A journalist who leaves out the important news is like a map maker who fails to tell the traveler about the other roads.

Thinking of journalist like

a map maker makes us realize the importance of accuracy and

comprehensiveness.

Journalism is a map with cost

We should include news of all demographics and needs of the community, not just the news that appeals to advertisers

Easier said than done because it does cost to create a map (newspaper)

It has gotten harder with the competition for the public’s time.

Different Demographics

The Herald realized that the people wouldn’t come to the Herald, so the Herald had to come to them.

They created news issues for individual demographics such as: El Nuevo Herald, Jewish Herald, and Yo!

Herald chose to reach out to new demographics to avoid being the map maker that leaves out important roads.

A struggle of journalism is to be able to with the entire community with a diverse population.

Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. London: Atlantic, 2003. Print.

http://bostonherald.com/

Outside the Book

MSN reached out to different demographics with the world tab on their website

Each tab on their website reaches to different parts in their audience

Which allow them to create and trustworthy map

Note the pop culture tab, which is separate from the important news like a car bomb teacher killing 21 people.

www.msn.com

Outside the Book

First Post did an article about Flappy Bird

The article is about five ways to replace flappy bird. Such as alternatives like Flappy Doge, Flappy Bird Typing Tutor, or Amazing Cupid.

This article relates the fact that they are reaching for other demographics, but on the flip side of things the article also is directed to grab attention for money. Flappy Bird is popular and first post is trying to grab that popularity.

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/missing-flappy-bird-5-games-will-fuel-addiction-218016.html

Credibility

The public can disagree with the chose of important of one story over another, but the public will accept those differences if they are confident in the journalist’s credibility

A journalist can make minor mistakes, because credibility is based off the perceived motive of the stories. ◦Intentions

Get Naked. For an Audience?

If you wanted an audience you could just go down to the street corner and strip naked.◦You would get an audience, but

how would to keep it?What if you went to that

same street corner naked but with a guitar?◦You would attract a audience

and keep them coming for days, if you are consistently good.

Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. London: Atlantic, 2003. Print.

Get Naked for Journalism?

How does getting naked relate to journalism?◦ Sadly, with the new digital medium journalist are just getting

naked. They are going for attraction value and not thinking about retaining

an audience or credibility.

But getting naked is cheaper than buying a guitar and learning it.◦ Producing original reporting and multimedia reporting is

expensive Which leads to new organizations supplying things that are in

demand or necessary. ◦ Reality TV◦ Focusing on celebrities and gossip

This is used to bring more “attention” to the news.

Journalism Research

“Research that helps journalists make judgments, not research that replaces judgment”*◦We need to stop using

market research that treats the public like customers, but rather use journalism market research that approaches people as CITIZENS.

Care about the communities' needs, struggles, and wants.

People are CITIZENSnot customers

*Kovach, Bill, and Tom Rosenstiel. The Elements of Journalism. London: Atlantic, 2003. Print.

What is the community doing?

What are they eating?Why are they unhappy?What decisions are they

making about health care, vacations, kid’s education, etc.?

Where do they work?What’s closing?What are individual's

stories?

Journalist need to focus on people and their problems rather than politicians and theirs, but understand what is proportional.

Be consistent with your reporting.

Storytelling is more important than the topic

We have the tools. Now we have to report and not repel the

audience.Make it comprehensive and proportional.Journalist are the map makers

◦Be accurate◦Give all the information◦Don’t write a story based off of a guess

GET NAKED, but don’t forget the guitar.

Quiz

1. Journalist are the _____ makers?2. What did the Herald do to be a better

map maker?3. What does research do to a journalist’s

judgment?