INTRODUCTIONTO

JOURNALISM(As per the Revised Syllabus of Mumbai University for

S.Y. BMM, Semester IV, 2015-16)

Divya Narang TinnaM.A. (Eco., Mass Communication), B.Ed., UGC NET (Eco.),

P.G. Diploma in T.V. Journalism,P.G. Diploma in Radio Broadcasting,

Assistant Professor,Thakur College of Science and Commerce,

Kandivali (E), Mumbai.

MUMBAI NEW DELHI NAGPUR BENGALURU HYDERABAD CHENNAI PUNE LUCKNOW AHMEDABAD ERNAKULAM BHUBANESWAR KOLKATA GUWAHATI

© AuthorNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording and/or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

First Edition : 2016

Published by : Mrs. Meena Pandey for Himalaya Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.,“Ramdoot”, Dr. Bhalerao Marg, Girgaon, Mumbai - 400 004.Phone: 022-23860170/23863863, Fax: 022-23877178E-mail: himpub@vsnl.com; Website: www.himpub.com

Branch Offices :New Delhi : “Pooja Apartments”, 4-B, Murari Lal Street, Ansari Road,

Darya Ganj, New Delhi - 110 002. Phone: 011-23270392,23278631; Fax: 011-23256286

Nagpur : Kundanlal Chandak Industrial Estate, Ghat Road,Nagpur - 440 018. Phone: 0712-2738731, 3296733;Telefax: 0712-2721216

Bengaluru : No. 16/1 (Old 12/1), 1st Floor, Next to Hotel Highlands,Madhava Nagar, Race Course Road, Bengaluru - 560 001.Phone: 080-22286611, 22385461, 4113 8821, 22281541

Hyderabad : No. 3-4-184, Lingampally, Besides Raghavendra SwamyMatham, Kachiguda, Hyderabad - 500 027.Phone: 040-27560041, 27550139

Chennai : New-20, Old-59, Thirumalai Pillai Road, T. Nagar,Chennai - 600 017. Mobile: 9380460419

Pune : First Floor, "Laksha" Apartment, No. 527, Mehunpura,Shaniwarpeth (Near Prabhat Theatre), Pune - 411 030.Phone: 020-24496323/24496333;Mobile: 09370579333

Lucknow : House No 731, Shekhupura Colony, Near B.D. Convent School,Aliganj, Lucknow - 226 022. Phone: 0522-4012353;Mobile: 09307501549

Ahmedabad : 114, “SHAIL”, 1st Floor, Opp. Madhu Sudan House, C.G. Road,Navrang Pura, Ahmedabad - 380 009. Phone: 079-26560126;Mobile: 09377088847

Ernakulam : 39/176 (New No: 60/251) 1st Floor, Karikkamuri Road, Ernakulam,Kochi – 682011. Phone: 0484-2378012, 2378016;Mobile: 09387122121

Bhubaneswar : 5 Station Square, Bhubaneswar - 751 001 (Odisha).Phone: 0674-2532129, Mobile: 09338746007

Kolkata : 108/4, Beliaghata Main Road, Near ID Hospital, Opp. SBI Bank,Kolkata - 700 010, Phone: 033-32449649, Mobile: 7439040301

Guwahati : House No. 15, Behind Pragjyotish College, Near Sharma PrintingPress, P.O. Bharalumukh, Guwahati - 781009, (Assam).Mobile: 09883055590, 08486355289, 7439040301

DTP by : Pravin KharchePrinted at : Rose Fine Arts, Mumbai. On behalf of HPH.

PREFACE

This book is intended to be used in courses that are concerned withthe study of news, news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, newsreporting, editing, etc. The aim of this book is to acquaint the students ofjournalism with every aspect of it.

At the beginning of the convergence era, there was uproar about thechanges that would take place in the media. There is no doubt thatJournalism has changed its form, from print media to social media. Inthis book, I have tried to include almost all the aspects related tojournalism, beginning from history of newspapers to the ever changingand evolving online journalism. Today, social media is giving toughcompetition to the print media, but Indian newspaper industry is stillgrowing and doing better than many western countries. Therefore,students should not lose hope.

After the history and changing forms of journalism, the focus ofthis book is on different styles of news writing like article, feature,report and editorial writing. In India, mass communication andjournalism is still in evolving stage and that applies on study materialalso. The study material of the subjects like Economics, History,Sociology, etc. is easily available in the book stores, whereas thejournalism students find it very difficult to find the up-to-date studymaterial on journalism at one place. Most of the books available on thejournalism subject are written by the foreign authors. In this book, I havetried to include the contemporary issues, which are being taken up bythe Indian media industry recently.

It gives me immense pleasure and sense of worthiness to presentthe First Special Edition of the handbook on the subject “Introduction toJournalism” to the educators and students of mass media. This book hasbeen written as per the revised syllabus of ‘University of Mumbai’ w.e.f.2015.

The latest examples, newspaper snapshots, practical insights andsuggested class assignments are the main features of this book. This ismy firm belief that, this book will prepare students for the challenges inthe field of journalism. I hope that teachers and students of journalismwill welcome and like this first edition of the book. Comments andsuggestions from the readers are always welcome.

Divya Narang Tinna

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who havecontributed in this book directly and indirectly. Although, it is verydifficult to include all the names here, but, some people definitely needto be thanked. First of all, I am thankful to the entire team of HimalayaPublishing House Pvt. Ltd., for making this venture possible for me. I amthankful to Mr. S.K. Srivastav for supporting and motivating me to writethis book.

I would like to thank my parents Mrs. Ramesh Narang andMr. Devinder Parkash Narang, who played a major role in shaping mycareer. My special thanks to my loving husband Mr. Nilit Tinna for allhis support and motivation. No significant work like this can happenwithout the support of family. Besides this, I also want to thank all myjournalist friends especially Nagarajan Chelliah for providing valuableinputs for the book.

I am extremely thankful to Dr. C.T. Chakraborty, Principal ofThakur College of Science and Commerce for giving a new direction tomy career. I also want to thank all my colleagues and friends who haveinspired me to write this book. My special thanks to students, whoseconsistent encouragement helped me to pitch the text.

Last but not the least, I beg forgiveness of all those who have beenwith me over the course of the years and whose names I have failed tomention.

Divya Narang Tinna

SYLLABUS

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISMNo. of

Lectures1. Changing face of journalism from Guttenberg to new media ········· 42. Journalism in India: ·································································· 6

● Earliest publications● The rise of nationalist press● Post 1947● The emergency 1975● Post emergency● Post liberalization of the economy boom in magazines

niche journalism● How technology advancement has helped media?

3. New media with special reference to rise the citizen journalism ····· 44. Definition of news; Hard news/Soft news and blend of the two ······45. The news process from the event to the reader ····························· 26. Criteria for news worthiness ······················································ 27. News reports; features; editorials ··············································· 28. Components of a news story ······················································ 8

● Finding a new angle● Writing a lead● Types of lead● Inverted pyramid format

9. Role of journalismwith special emphasis on its role to educate ····· 2● Interpretation● Transmission of values● Development● Entertainment

10. Principles of journalism ···························································· 2● Objectivity● Accuracy● Without fear or favor● Balance

11. Basic difference in writing for the print, television andonline journalism ································································· 2+2

12. Jobs in journalism ···································································· 213. Latest trends and issues in journalism ········································· 214. Short notes on:

● Press council of media students ··········································· 2● Audit bureau of circulation ················································· 2

PAPER PATTERN

Total Marks: 75Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Q1. Practical Application/Case Study/InterpretativeQuestion 15 Marks

Q2. (A) Descriptive Question/Practical Application 8 Marks(B) Descriptive Question/Practical Application 7 MarksOR

Q2. Interpretative Question/Essay Type Question 15 MarksQ3. (A) Descriptive Question/Practical Application 8 Marks

(B) Descriptive Question/Practical Application 7 MarksOR

Q3. Interpretative Question/Essay Type Question 15 MarksQ4. (A) Descriptive Question/Practical Application 8 Marks

(B) Descriptive Question/Practical Application 7 MarksOR

Q4. Interpretative Question/Essay Type Question 15 MarksQ5. Write short notes on any three 15 Marks

(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)

CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Changing Face of Journalism ......................... 1 – 9

Chapter 2: History of Indian Journalism ..................... 10 – 21

Chapter 3: New Media and Citizen Journalism .......... 22 – 26

Chapter 4: News ............................................................ 27 – 34

Chapter 5: Process of News .......................................... 35 – 39

Chapter 6: News Values ................................................ 40 – 43

Chapter 7: Fundamentals of Writing – Feature,Article and Editorial ................................... 44 – 70

Chapter 8: Elements of a News Story ...........................71 – 78

Chapter 9: Role of Journalism ...................................... 79 – 82

Chapter 10: Principles of Journalism ............................. 83 – 86

Chapter 11: Writing for the Print, Television andOnline Journalism ....................................... 87 – 94

Chapter 12: Jobs in Journalism .................................... 95 – 103

Chapter 13: Latest Trends and Issues in Journalism .. 104 – 108

Chapter 14: Press Council of India ............................ 109 – 114

Chapter 1

CHANGING FACE OFJOURNALISM

What is Journalism?The word ‘Journalism’ seems to have been taken from the French

word ‘Journalisme’, which was taken from the Latin word ‘Journal’,which means a newspaper, periodical or any book of accounts whichkeeps record of day to day transactions. The concept of Journalism is asold as our civilization is. The history of Journalism can be traced back tothe Roman era, where handwritten newspapers were put up in the mainmarket place to give information to the common man. Thesehandwritten newspapers were called ‘Acta-Diurna.’ In ancient India, therulers used to keep themselves informed about the happenings in theirstates through their spies. This was the time when education was notwide spread, people were not aware of the needs of communication andwhatever communication was there, it was related to trade. The Mughalruler Aurengzeb initiated the process of communication network. Hehired people to give him information about the happenings in his state.These informers can be divided into two parts, Vaquia-Navis andConfia-Navis. Vaquia-Navis were the ones who used to write news forthe rulers and Confia-Navis used to collect information from public in asecret manner. Since then, the world of Journalism has changed a lot.From handwritten newspapers to courantos, from newsletters to gazettes,from broadsheets to tabloids, the newspapers have changed in size, color,shape and of course in content too. The major change in the field ofJournalism came after the invention of Printing Press, which wasinvented by Johann Guttenberg in 1440 in Germany.

Who is a Journalist?Different people have defined Journalism in different ways. To

some, it is a social or public service, to some it is an art, to some it islike any other profession and a means to earn livelihood. Similarly, therehas been a lot of debate and discussion on who should be called ajournalist? Anyone, who is involved in the process of collection,

2 Introduction to Journalism

selection, production, writing, editing and broadcasting of news is ajournalist. To be more specific, all news writers, editors, video editors,photographers, camerapersons, reporters, correspondents, sub-editors,proof-readers, news anchors, stringers and even the freelancers are alsoincluded in the category of Journalists. But, this profession is a little bitdifferent from other professions like teaching or medicine. If one wantsto become a teacher in school, one needs to have B.Ed. degree, similarly,to become a Professor in college, one needs to clear NET/SET exam,but to become a journalist, one does not need to clear any competitiveexamination. It is an open profession, where anyone who has flare forwriting along with good communication skills irrespective ofeducational background can become journalist. But, for the past fewyears, this thinking has changed. Now, Communication or Journalismhas also developed as a complete profession/discipline and anyone whowants to enter the media industry, should have a degree or diploma inJournalism or mass communication. It is considered as an addedadvantage if not a compulsion to enter the media industry.

History of PrintingHistory of print media and written communication follows the

progress of civilization which, in turn, moves in response to changingcultural technologies. The transfer of complex information, ideas andconcepts from one individual to another or to a group, underwentextreme evolution since prehistoric times. The history of printing presscan be traced back to the early times, when messages in the form ofimages were duplicated by means of stamps. You might have seen themovie ‘The Mummy Returns’, where the people used to communicatewith each other in sign language. They used to make images of sun,water or waves, animals etc. to give messages to their friends or family.This movie is based in Egypt. Printing also has some of its base in Egyptand China. Mesopotamian civilization in 3000 BC as the common formsof arts, is the earlier examples of the print and replication of messages tocommunity.

Changing Face of Journalism 3

Mesopotamian CivilizationSource: Google Images

Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancientSumerians of Mesopotamia in 3500-3000 BC. It is considered the mostsignificant among the many cultural contributions of the Sumerians andthe greatest among those of the Sumerian city of Uruk which advancedthe writing of cuneiform. Cuneiform script is one of the earliest systemsof writing, distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets.Cuneiform itself means wedge shaped characters.

In both China and Egypt, the use of small stamps preceded the useof larger blocks. In Europe and India, the printing of cloth preceded theprinting of paper. Around, 2900 BC, the Egyptians developedhieroglyphs. A hieroglyph is a character of the ancient Egyptian writing

4 Introduction to Journalism

system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a wayreminiscent of ancient Egyptian writing system and are also sometimescalled “hieroglyphs”. In 1900 B.C. the Chinese independently developedtheir very own style of writing. The earliest record of Chinese writingwas found preserved on various bones. Their achievement was thebuilding stone for Japanese and Korean to create their own models in400 B.C.

Image of Hieroglyphs

The Era of Printing PressThe invention of Printing Press has contributed immensely in the

development of Journalism. The history of Journalism would have beensomething different without the invention of Printing Press. Although,newspapers were there before the invention of Printing Press, but,Printing Press ended the wide spread gap between the mass and the class.It made books and newspapers available for the masses, which earlierwere affordable to the elite class because of the time and cost involvedin making it.

Guttenberg SagaJohann Guttenberg is known as father of modern printing. He

invented printing press in 1440 in Germany. Although, much had beendone by the Chinese and Korean people in the area of printing, beforethe invention of printing press, but it was Johann Guttenberg who,perfected the printing press. Around A.D. 600, Chinese, started printingwith wooden blocks, which was mainly done on textiles and later onpaper. After few years, moveable metal typeface came into market. Butprinting with this typeface was a daunting task, as for every new page,

Changing Face of Journalism 5

letters were supposed to be arranged again. It increased the cost ofprinting and that is why earlier the books were available and affordablefor elite class only. It was Johann Guttenberg, who made books andother printed material available for the masses.

Who was Johann Guttenberg?

Johann Guttenberg

Johann Guttenberg was born in Mainz in Germany. It is believedthat he grew up learning the art of goldsmith and blacksmith. He was aprinter, who used to love metals. According to historians, his family leftMainz due to some political reasons. As, Guttenberg was skilled inmetals, he invented the printing press in 1440. His invention isconsidered as a very important invention of the modern era, whichhelped in the transmission of knowledge, culture and heritage. Hisinvention revolutionized the printing technology that too, at a cheapercost. He printed his first book 42 line ‘Guttenberg Bible’ around 1455.Guttenberg’s Bible is considered as the first modern printed book in theWorld.

Types of PrintingBack in the days printing of books, broadsheets, brochures and

other printed materials was a meticulous process. Thanks to JohannesGutenberg’s invention of movable type in 1439, which broughtrevolution in printing. By this time, it was widely known across Europeand America. The movable type allowed a faster printing of bookswhich in turn helped to spread knowledge and education to many people.

6 Introduction to Journalism

Since then, printing has come a long way, because of thetechnological advancements made by people in the respective field.Books and other publications today can now be mass produced in a veryshort period of time while maintaining the quality of prints. There arenow several ways of printing that publishers could choose from. Hereare some of the well-known printing processes.

1. Offset Lithography:It is famously known as Offset printing. This process isconsidered as the most cost-effective that is why many in theindustry prefer this process. This also allows publishers to printhigh quantity of prints in faster time because the printingmachine is very quick and easy to set up as long as plates arealready available. Basically in offset printing, the roller platesare run through water and then ink. Ink adheres to areas withimages (including texts and designs) while water on the whitespaces of the layout. It is then pressed to a rubber plate beforepressing on a paper. One of the major drawbacks of thisprinting process is the plate. Once a layout is already made intoa plate, omissions cannot be easily changed.

2. Letterpress:This is the original process done by Gutenberg. Although it isclearly more advanced than the original press, the process isstill the same. The image being printed is higher than thesurface of the plate which will be pressed on the paper. Withthe technology becoming more advance, this process isbecoming less famous and obsolete.

3. Digital Printing:This process is the most favored today because of its highquality prints and quick printing process from computerdirectly to the printer. Plates are not needed on digital printingso it needs lesser man power. This process however isexpensive because of the ink and paper used by the printer. Thecolors can also be difficult to adjust or predict, since the colorsof the image to be printed might be different on the computermonitor.

4. Engraving:Most of company letterhead and stationery are still printedusing this method. The images printed on the paper are raised

Changing Face of Journalism 7

or engraved creating a more defined and attractive image. Thishowever is only used for corporate logos or formal partyinvitations because it is very expensive and strenuous process.

5. Electrostatic Printing:Just like the xerography process or dry photocopying inventedby Chester Carlson, electrostatic printing invented by GeorgChristoph Lichtenberg in 1778, does not need ink or plates toprint. In this process, the paper is coated with zinc oxide whichacts as insulator in the dark and conductor if exposed to light.This process is mainly used for short run printing just likegeographical maps and is becoming famous because it printsfaster than inkjet printers.

Source: wordpress.com

The Invention of RadioGuglielmo Marconi is known as the inventor of radio. He was a

young man living in Italy. He was inspired by the biography of HienrichHertz, who had written and experimented with early forms of wirelesstransmission. Marconi then duplicated Hertz’s experiments in his ownhome, successfully sending transmissions from one side to the other. Hewanted to use this technology at a large scale and for the larger audience.He approached the Italian government for support, but was disappointed.He did not lose hope and moved to England and took out a patent on hisdevice. Rather than inventing radio from scratch, Marconi smartlycombined the ideas and experiments of other people to make them into auseful communications tool.

In early, 20th century, many experiments were happening in thefield of radio broadcasting. In 1906, Massachusetts resident ReginaldFessenden initiated the first radio transmission of the human voice, butcould not succeed. In 1919, a number of small stations began operatingusing technologies that had developed during the war. Many of thesestations developed regular programming that included religious sermons,sports and news.

In fact, long-distance electronic communication has existed sincethe middle of the 19th century. The telegraph communicated messagesthrough a series of long and short clicks. Cables across the AtlanticOcean connected even the far-distant United States and England usingthis technology. By the 1870s, telegraph technology had been used to

8 Introduction to Journalism

develop the telephone, which could transmit an individual’s voice overthe same cables used by its predecessor.

When Marconi popularized wireless technology, contemporariesinitially viewed it as a way to allow the telegraph to function in placesthat could not be connected by cables. Early radios acted as devices fornaval ships to communicate with other ships and with land stations; thefocus was on person-to-person communication. However, the potentialfor broadcasting—sending messages to a large group of potentiallisteners—wasn’t realized until later in the development of the medium.The first radio stations were set up in Pittsburg, New York and Chicagoin the 1920s. In 1926, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was setup in USA by RCA. Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) wasdeveloped later on. Similarly, in England, British Government set upBBC as an autonomous body. Several European and Asian countriesalso formed similar organizations.

Television BroadcastingExperiments in TV broadcasting were started in 1920s in the US

and Europe. These experiments used mechanical scanning disc, whichcould not scan the picture fast enough. This was followed by iconoscope,the electric television tube. In 1930s the National BroadcastingCorporation (NBC) had set up TV stations in New York, and BBC hadset up a TV station in London. In 1931, there were nearly 40,000television sets in the United States; 9,000 of them were in New YorkCity alone.

In 1962, the first communication satellite ‘Early Bird’ waslaunched from Florida. It was also the first satellite to provide direct andinstant communication between the North American and Europeancontinents including transmission of television, telephone and telefaxsignals.

In 1970s, more sophisticated transmission technology employingoptic fiber cable and computer was used.

New MediaNew Media is posing a great threat to the old media. Before, we

start talking about the challenges of New Media; let’s understand whatNew Media is all about. New Media is basically the content orinformation, which is available on the internet and which you can use onyour smart phone or personal computer. This is the information, which

Changing Face of Journalism 9

you can share with anyone. The main feature of New Media is that, it ismore interactive and open for comments and criticism too. Commonexamples of new media include websites such as online newspapers,blogs, or wikis, video games and social media. This is not like traditionalmedia, where communication flows from top to bottom and the audiencecan not participate directly. New Media gives a chance to the readers/viewers for active participation in the debates/discussions. Manynewspapers today have launched their web newspaper, which is not onlycost effective, but fast too. Now, people don’t want to wait for themorning newspapers, because the information is available to them at themoment it is happening. This became possible because of socialnetworking sites like facebook and twitter. Today, many newspapershave started hiring journalists, who are trained to extract news from thesocial networking sites. Not only this, many universities also run theirspecialized programmes in social networking journalism. For example,University of Florida offers, Masters of Arts in Mass Communicationwith specialization in Social Media.

At the end, I would like to say that, one should always be ready tolearn the new technology. Who remembers floppies now, which hasbeen replaced by pen-drives and CDs? Who remembers audio cassettesor big record players now, when the same music can be heard in a minidevice called i-pod. Someone has rightly said that a journalist should bejack of all and master of one.

Questions for Self-evaluation1. Who is known as father of modern printing?2. What are the different types of printing technologies?3. How is New Media posing a challenge for traditional media?

♦♦ × ♦♦