Why is journalism important?

Résumé du document

The media are omnipresent in our life, and are universal. We find them in several forms: newspapers, radio, television and websites. Through the media we have information which has been collected by the activity of journalism. But what is journalism? Journalism consists in ?collecting, writing, editing and presenting news or news articles.? [...]

Extraits

[...] We can wonder why journalism is important. Firstly, I am going to talk about the role of journalism in a democratic society, secondly analyze what does journalism provide to citizens, and finally wonder about several questions concerning journalism. According to Brian Mc Nair (2003), journalism is of the key social and cultural forces in our society” (p.21). It has several roles in a democratic society. It is a means of expression dedicated to citizens. It has a cultural and an educative role. [...]

[...] Why is journalism important? The media are omnipresent in our life, and are universal. We find them in several forms: newspapers, radio, television and websites. Through the media we have information which has been collected by the activity of journalism. But what is journalism? Journalism consists in “collecting, writing, editing and presenting news or news articles.” (American Heritage, (2003), American Heritage College Dictionary [online], 3rd edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Available from: http://www.texesexampracticetests.com/156-TExES-Journalism-8-12-Exam.html [no date]). As Rudyard Kipling (no date) said: “good journalism reports the what, when, where, how and why.” (Rudyard Kipling, (no date, no title, no edition, no place of publication, no publisher), Available from: http://www.texesexampracticetests.com/156-TExES-Journalism-8-12-Exam.html [no date]) The aim of journalism is to report information about current events, business, economic, politics, national and international issues of the day, to explain them in order to make information accessible to the public and to discuss them. [...]

[...] et al (1997), The mass media power in Modern Britain, New York, Oxford University Press Inc. - Kovach B. and Rosenstiel T., (2003), Why is journalism for? In: The elements of journalism, Atlantic books for guardian newspapers - Mc Nair B., (2003), Why journalism matters In: News and journalism in the UK, 4th edition, London, Routledge. - Schudson M., (1996), The news media and the democratic process In: The power of news, Harvard University Press. Other source: - Cole P., (2008), Course of journalism, Media junkies In: why journalism matters? [...]

[...] (1996) it is explained that media claim to have a special mission of informing the citizenry to make democratic government possible” (p.204). more informed citizenry will create a better and fuller democracy” (p.204). The media are an anti- establishment force in front of other powers of the State (Lords Spirituals, Lords Temporal and Commons) they can reveal political or economic speeches with a different analysis. Another important element has been shown by Powell D. (no date): free press is the foundation of a free society.” (Powell D., (no date), cited in Nelson A. [...]

[...] However, in this field making money is one of the main aims of media moguls. The media are not only a social actor but also a business. Thus, the journalist's free speech can be limited by media moguls in order to increase the circulation and the audience. And what can we think about the proliferation of frees and websites which provide free information? Is it a kind of journalism which serves the democracy or something else? And, what about the quality of information? Is information accurate? [...]