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The elements of journalism: What newspeople should

know and the public should expect (book review)

Research · April 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1066.7926

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establishing himself as a leading First • The Elements of Journalism: What
Amendment theorist, almost effortlessly Newspeople Should Know and the
dispatches each of the theories. He treats Public Should Expect. Bill Kovach and
each—no matter how far-fetched it may Tom Rosenstiel. New York: Crown
seem—with respect, yet points out the flaws Publishers, 2001.205 pp. $20 hbk.
with the precision of a surgeon. In addition, Inherent in the behavior and process we
he draws from each whatever sustenance call "joumaUsm" iscontroversy. Journalism's
might be there to benefit First Amendment inexact, less-than-scientific character almost
theory. assures it will occasionally enter a crisis,
Most interdisciplinary theory, he becoming awash in change, its self-identity
concludes, takes a top-down approach. The threatened or its credibility challenged. Just
theorists "identify a grand theoretical insight,
as naturally, we can depend on someone to
epistemology, or method and then attempt to right the ship, calm the waters,
relentlessly work out the implications, even and smooth the sails. Enter The Elements of
though their premises maybe far afield from journalism, which simply lists and details
the First Amendment tradition." On the other what the authors consider journalism's ten
hand, most traditional First Amendment guiding principles and purpose for the
theorists take a bottom-up approach. That enlightenment of journalists and the general
is, they "aggregate case law, perhaps along public.
with relevant textual evidence, and provide For the former, the book serves as a
a theory for what courts are dong in practice."Journalism 101 moral refresher: Journalism's
A better approach to First Amendment purpose is truth, produced by those loyal to
theory, Bvmker suggests, is what he calls that purpose and to the citizens (not to
"reflective equilibrium." While reflective profits).Committee of Concerned Journalists
equilibrium can take more than one iteration, Chairman Bill Kovach and Project for
it is, in essence, a process "of working back Excellence in Journalism Director Tom
and forth between our moral judgments Rosenstiel assert, however, that truth is not
about particular situations and our effort to enough: There is also verification, to which
provide general reasons and principals that they devote a chapter that's as good a
link those judgments to ones that are reporting primer as any textbook. The
relatively similar." Bunker's final chapter, inauthors explain "the intellectual principles
which he winnows through the various legal of a science of reporting" gleaned from
theories and provides a full explication of numerous discussions with and surveys of
reflective equilibrium, is the strongest of theeditors, journalists, and members of the
book. public. As a CCJ member, I applaud the
Critiquing Free Speech is an important effort: Journalists need to be reminded of
book.Itisnotforthenovicescholar,however. their profession's high ethical objective. Any
Both the subject matter and Bunker's craft—jourrudism included—requires a how-
approach to the subject matter are complex. to inventory. For the public, the book
Paragraph after paragraph, and sometimes provides a glimpse into why serious
page after page, demand rereading. Wading journalists behave as they do; journalism
through the complex theories and Bimker's has a purpose over and above selling
machinations with those theories, however, newspapers and airtime. The lay reader
is a worthwhile effort that can lead to a new discovers there is a rationale for what
understanding of First Amendmenttheory— journalists cover and that not only is
old and new. joumaUsm a map with which to navigate
W.WAT HOPKINS society, but that good journalism strives to
Associate Professor be accurate and comprehensive.
of Communication Studies But it is not enough to index—as the text
Virginia Tech does—all the proper characteristics. To be

BOOK REVIEWS 851

sure, the authors credibly explain each item.
For example, they say journalists have ctn
obligation to monitor the powerful
because—as investigative reporting gets
trivialized (thanks to consumer-oriented
topics such as the honesty of auto brake
mecharucs) and challenged—^journalism's
function as a public forum becomes
weakened, giving way to "a new wave of
journalism as assertion." But as if it were
Moses coming down from the Big Newsroom
In The Sky, the book comes off as so many
pronouncements. This is no text for a skeptic;
while each element gets its due in terms of
description and analysis, there is no Burning
Bush—no original explanation exists for the
list as a whole. By its structure, the text expects
the reader to accept the idea that journalism
is a recipe.
The book makes a weak attempt at
synthesis in the last chapter, in which the
authors claim that journalists' responsibility
to conscience ties all the other elements
together. On its face, this makes sense: For
example, what journalist would not say his
or her conscience is the reason for his or her
search (via journalism) for truth? But the
final chapter does not engage in such
analytical application of the elements,
choosing instead to elaborate on the role of
conscience in newsrooms and the threat
certain newsroom cultures pose against
individual conscience. In this sense, then,
the book is guilty of over-simplifying, or in
its own terms, lack of verification. At the
least, the book misses an opportimity to link
the elements or to explain the nature of the
list; in short, no aiulysis of the analysis. For
instance, after the authors describe
verification's role, they state "the next step
is to clarify their (journalists') relationship
to those they report on." But the authors
never explain if there is a rationale to the
order.
Such inconsistencies, however, should
not obscure the book's value. To be fair, the
authors say their list is the fruit the CCJ
empirical studies, historical deductions, and
its ongoing dialogue with citizens and
journalists, not an argument but "a
852
description of the theory and culture of
jounudism"thatemerged 6:0m that dialogue.
These are the elements society expects
journalists to apply, the authors claim, and,
as such constitute the first attempt to help
journalists understand the public's vision of
an independent press. Any honest, self-
respecting journalist (or journalism
professor) wants to know the public's
mindset and, at the same time, constantly
wants to improve as a journalist. So in that
respect. The Elements ofJournalism is a useful
book.
In addition, choosing a definitive list for
such an ill-defined profession presents a
thankless task. Anyone with an opinion will
have a slightly different list, but Kovach and
Rosenstiel provide as good a catalog as
any. Particularly helpful is their disciission
on the utility of audience research as it
pertains to journalistic decisions of coverage:
"the paradox of giving people only the news
they want." After dismissing much market
research as telling people "only about the
part of the commimity they already know
about," the authors compellingly argue for
research that helps journalists make
judgments (rather than replace those
judgments). Such research, they contend,
will help journalists regain their confidence
and ability to make the news "comprehensive
and proportional." The examples provide
wiggle room for journalists who resistmarket
research but who are open to public input
about what constitutes news.
Finally, the book illuminates not only
the CCJ's thinking on the nature of news but
the CCJ's orthodoxy. Traditional journalists
and traditior\al news values have nothing to
fear from the approach. There are no
arguments for other possible elements (or
why there are no others), nor any explanation
for why the included elements were the ones
that resulted. In short, there's no clear
methodology, no delineation of the
verification process. As a result, the book
appears inherently pro-profession, largely
anti-marketing, and journalistically
conservative. It does not challenge the
journalism establishment insomuch as it
attempts to explain why the establishment and the means to show the movies to the
should try harder and do better. Any book public.
thatdoes so, while perhaps not intellectually Several other books have explored the
exciting, is worth reading. transfer of power in Hollywood from the
hands of movie moguls who loved films to
corporate chiefs who knew more about
GEORGE SYLVIE acquisitions than judging a script or creating
Associate Professor, School of Journalisma classic. How this altered the nature of
The University of Texas at Austin filmmaking and whether it had an impact
on the quality of the films themselves is not
examined here. Dick, professor of
• Engulfed: The Death of Paramount communications and English at Fairleigh
Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Dickinson University, leaves readers to
Hollywood. Bernard F. Dick. Lexington: determine what is important to take ft'om
University Press of Kentucky, 2001.302 the Paramount story. Could it be that not
pp. $27.50 hbk. much has changed, that movies of varying
Lest readers question why they need quality continue to be made no matter who
another book on a venerable film studio, gets the profits? The system of production,
author Bernard F. Dick assures them that distribution, and exhibition has remained
Engulfed: The Death ofParamount Pictures and intact, with the roles of those involved
the Birth (^Corporate Hollywood is not a history changing over the decades. To filmgoers the
of Paramount Pictures. Yet Dick does not product remains hit and miss. Do they care
quite explain what readers may hope to whether a studio or an independent
gain from this streamlined recapitulation of producer raised the money? An underlying
well-reported facts. Working from the roots flavy of Engulfed is that it asks too few
of Paramoimt in the early 1900s to its role as questions and offers even less analysis.
a corporate plaything by the begiruiing of An additional weakness of the book is
the conglomerate-happy twenty-first its reliance on secondary sources. Except for
century, Dick lays the groundwork for a the private papers of Paramount's last
study of the money men who stoked a dream independent corporate chief, Dick uses
factory. However, he never seems to almost exclusively books, magazine articles,
develop a strong context for analyzing what and newspaper reports. Key events are
it all means and, most important, why it dutifully reported, from the 1948 Supreme
matters. Court decision that ordered studios to sell
Paramoimt's history has usually been off their theaters to the 1988 Art Buchwald
told in terms of its movies, not its managers. lawsuit that exposed their creative
In its best years the Paramount mountain bookkeeping. This cut-and-paste approach
signaled audiences that they were about to could have worked had Dick developed an
experience a Cecil B. DeMille epic, a overall thesis in which to give the facts
sophisticated comedy from Emst Lubitsch, context, and had he offered imique ir\sight.
or a slice of q ^ c i s m from Billy Wilder. In Instead, Engulfed reviews the history of
terms of colorful characteVs its studio bosses Paramount in terms of its corporate make-
were no match for MGM's Louis B. Mayer, up, comparing and contrasting those who
Columbia's Harry Cohn, or Warner Brothers owned the company or ran its operations.
chief Jack Wamer. By thetimeGulf+Westem Not surprisingly, these men (and an
acquired Paramount in 1966, the studio occasional woman) were obsessed with
system had long given way to independent power and stock prices. What led them to
producers. The succession of executives who "greenlight" some projects and dismiss
controlled Paramount in its subsequent others—the true power in Hollywood—^is
incarnations merely provided the money not examined.

BOOK REVIEWS 853

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