Journalism

“When a dog bites a man its not news,

but when a man bites a dog its the
news…”
• Words ‘Journal’ , ‘Journalism’, French word
Journalist’ meaning a book. ‘journal’
• It’s origin in the Roman word ‘
diurnalis’
meaning daily.
• Around 130 B.C. in Rome the trend of handwritten bulletins started. It
was known as “Acta Diurna” dealt with views.
• Modern Western Style Journalism – 17th Century
• 1720 – News and Views were separated
• Industrial Revolution – major development
Definition

Journalism is instant history, an account of history as it is

being made.

Journalism is a report of things as they appear at the

moment of writing not a definitive study of a
situation.

Journalism is a cotemporary report of the changing scene

intended to inform readers of what is happening around
them.
Short History of Magazines and
Newspaper
17th “Acta Diurna” – Roman Empire
Century (Julius Ceaser) around 59 BC
Europe: Carved in stone or metal: put up at
Handwritte public areas
n Sheets

In China, early Gazettes, were a mid-16th

century Venice phenomenon.
government-produced They were issued on single
news sheets, called Tipao sheets, folded to form four pages,
and issued on a weekly schedule.
First Newspaper Country and Year
• La Gazette • France 1631
• Gazeta da Restauração • Lisbon, Portugal 1641
• Gaceta de Madrid • Spanish 1661
• The Daily Courant • English Daily 1702-1735
English Newspaper in Indian
Subcontinent
Newspaper Year
• A British editor, William Bolts, • 1766 – Calcutta
offered the first ever paper.
• James Augustus Hickey • 1780 – Calcutta
published Bengal
Gazette/General Calcutta
Adviser.
• India Gazette - • 1781
ProGoverment
Newspaper Yea
r
• Bengal Gazette – The First • 1780
Newspaper in India.
• Madras Courier • 1782
• Bombay Herald • 1781
• Bombay Courier • 1792
• In 1799, the East India administration passed regulations to increase
its control over the press.
• The Uprising of 1857 brought out the divide between Indian owned
and British owned newspapers. The government passed the Gagging
Act of 1847 and the Vernacular Press Act in 1876.
Role of
Press
• Watch dog of democratic society
• Social Responsibility
• Investigation of scams
• To propagate social reforms
• Passing information
• Sharing information
• Motivating Power of the society
• Emphasizing education
• Opinion Builder
• Generate debate
• Act as people's mouth piece
• The press occupation is pivotal
a position in the life of a nation
and it’s people.
• Eradication of social evils
• Guardian of the rights and liberty
of people
Press Council of
India
It is a statutory body consisting of 28 members
representing owners of the newspapers, news
agencies, journalists, educationalists, legal experts
and expats on various subjects.

Functions:
This body has the power to warn and stop and
censor any editor’s or journalist’s work who
flouts the standard of journalistic ethics and
public texts.
 Aim
•sPCI has been established to preserve and improve freedom of press
on one hand and on the other hand to maintain and improve the
standard of newspaper and new agencies. The PCI takes care of the
press codes and press ethics in the following manner:
• Freedom on information
• Freedom of access to information sources
• Objectivity, truthfulness and interpretation of facts
• Responsibility to public and it’s rights, interest and in relation to
national, racial and religious communities of the nation, the state and
to maintain peace.
• 6. The obligation to restrain from bias, unfounded standards and
violations of peace
• 7. Integrity and independence: the right of reply and correction
• 8. Maintain professional confidentiality
• 9. Consideration for cultural, social or ethic code of individual
countries or communities
Freedom of
Press
• Article 19 (1) clearly states that right to freedom of speech and
expression is the fundamental right for every citizen of India.
Audit bureau of Circulation ltd.
(ABC)
• Main Function: ABC carries out circulation surveys on a regular basis
and issues ‘Certificates of Net Paid Circulation’ every six months.
• It has a very high reputation for reliability and impartiality and is
therefore quotes with authority.
Registrar of Newspaper in
India
• RNI functions as a Central Government body (under the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting) responsible for the compilation of a
Register giving particulars like ownership and circulation of all
newspapers published in India.
• Checks title, printing, machinery, publication of newspaper is on daily
basis or not.
• Annual Report – ‘Press in India’’.
Press Codes and Ethics in
Journalism
• Formulated in 1920s
• Several states enforce such codes which speak of such high-minded
principles as objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness, freedom of
information.
• The MacBridge Report – Responsibilities and objectives.
• A Code of Ethics for Indian Journalists – PCI and Press Commission.
Indian News
Agency
• Supply news reports to news organizations.
• K.C. Roy, an Indian Journalist during the early years of this century, set
up the first Indian news agency called the Press News Bureau (PNB).
• FPI (Free Press in India) – 1930 S.Sadanand
• United Press of India
• Eastern Newspaper Society
Press Trust of
India
• Largest News Agency in India (Delhi).
• It provides news coverage and information of the region in
both English and Hindi.
• Major Indian subscribers of PTI include Times of India, the Indian
Express, the Hindustan Times, the All India Radio and Doordarshan.
• Press Trust of India is the only news agency in South Asia which
operates its own communication satellite, an INSAT, to broadcast
news and information.
United News of
India
• It is one of the two primary Indian news agencies It works in
collaboration with several foreign news agencies and partners.
• Its services are currently available in three languages: English, Hindi
and Urdu.
• UNI is said to be the first news agency in India to launch a Finance
service, a Stock Exchange service and a National Photo service.
Lead
Writing
• In news articles, the lead is a summary of what the whole thing is
about answering the questions Who? What? Where? When? Why?
• Short, Sharp Summary of things, readers are curious to read.
Feature
Writing
• Key function is to humanize, to add colour, to educate, to entertain,to
illuminate
• A feature story may or may not tied to a current event
• Will often be longer in size than a traditional news story.
• Use ‘features’ when you want to:
• - explain, expand and/or analyse previous news stories
• - profile a person
• - document a trend in society
• - create a ‘how – to” guide
• Feature types are
1. Personality Profiles
2. Human Interest Stories
3. Trend Stories
4. Analysis Stories
• Features are written to hook the reader and draw them into the story
• It may include direct quotations, observations and additional
background throughout the story
How to do feature
writing?
• Choose a theme
• Read about it
• Think Clearly
• Prepare a framework
• Identify all the sources and collect relevant information