(Disclaimer: This is a brief documentation of the classes pertaining to Introduction to Journalism, taught by Dr. Vartika Nanda and has been compiled purely for academic purposes.)
WEEKLY REPORT: 12th December-17th December,2022
A discussion was directed with the aim of allowing students to interact with the concept 'INGREDIENTS OF NEWS' and its underlying components. This included proximity, locality, timeliness, prominence, consequences and emotions.
Proximity- Events that happen within the proximity of a news organisation are of more concern to that news media, and readers who are part of the same region.
Timeliness- Refers to how freshness can enhance a story. It is believed the timely nature of a story can attract readers since there exists a need to access instantaneous news or to know what's happening now.
Emotions/Human Interest- Such stories appeal to the emotions of readers, and allow readers to engage with the story in a different way.
Prominence- Refers to how certain events are newsworthy because prominent or popular people are involved (and that might be of interest to the readers).
Consequence/Impact- Refers to the interest in readers with reference to knowing about stories that can have significant impact on their communities or society.
The class also studied the concepts 'on the record' and 'off the record', and briefly analysed the idea of embargo.
On the Record: denotes that everything the source states can be published and reproduced exactly, and the source can be connected to the news by allowing the identification of their name and title.
Off the Record: means information that is shared with a journalist on the basis that the information won't be attributed to the source.
Embargo: can be understood as a request made by the source to the news organisation to withhold the release of any publishing or broadcasting material until a specified time on a certain date.
● An intimation was given to the Book Reading Team in regard to the books authored by Carol Flemming, Richard Keeble and M.V. Klamath.
● A briefing was carried out to inform the students about the working of the media research cell and the application procedures.
● Students were given an assignment consisting of two constituents i.e., a) A note on Ingredients of News (WORD LIMIT-800 WORDS); b) A note emphasising the concept 'on the record' and 'off the record' (MINIMUM 200 WORDS). The deadline for the same was indicated to be on the 20th of December, 2022.
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WEEKLY REPORT: 19th December- 25th December, 2022
● This week focused on the concept of attribution, verification, fairness, balance and credibility. Detailed discussions were held on definition, characteristics and significance of news. The discussion was completed using several relevant examples. Additionally, an outline was provided as to how these concepts can be composed as a written piece.
● A presentation of the newsletters curated by students in their respective teams was carried out as part of the class. Subsequently, another task was attached to the newsletter making assignment that is to create a compilation of the newsletters online as a step to archive them with the deadline being the 26th of December, 2022.
● Some students were tasked with the responsibility of creating a record consisting of students' experiences while working on the newsletter and composing a write-up regarding the same.
● An assignment involving research regarding the differences that exist between the components 'off the record' and 'deep-background' was given to students to elicit another discussion in the coming class.
● Students were assigned with the work of creating a written piece that highlights the concept of attribution (WORD LIMIT-600 WORDS).
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WEEKLY REPORT: 26th December-31st December, 2022.
● Students were taught about the concept of newsworthiness.
● Students were given tasks that could enhance their writing skills.
● Two students-Vishaka and Vidhi were assigned with the tasks of making posters.
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WEEKLY REPORT: 9th January-14th January, 2023
● A discussion was initiated on the topic- Hard News and Soft News:
Hard News was understood to be of the type that is serious in nature, underlines emergency or some urgent situation and must be reported timely or immediately(depending on the situation). This category of news is considered to be a part of hard core journalism.
In contrast, a study of Soft News showed that it's not entirely based on facts, and allows space for opinions and other background data that might not be considered relevant in an article that highlights hard news.
Every situation can be either hard news or soft news or in certain instances can be part of both categories depending on the context and emphasis given to the situation.
● The discussion on Hard News and Soft News was extended to examine another concept titled 'Inverted Pyramid' which is considered as an essential tool in writing news reports. The Inverted Pyramid emphasises the 5Ws(Ws- what, where, when, why and who) and 1H (H-how) of the news it intends to report. This allows to keep the significant information in the beginning of the article followed by facts of lesser relevance towards the end of the report. And, utilising such a tool also helps writers to edit information without much effort.
● Activity: Research about 5Ws and 1H was carried out in class to enhance students' understanding of the topic and to help them develop analytical skills.
● A revision of the previously covered topics, namely 'off the record', 'on the record', 'attribution', 'embargo', 'deep background', 'on background', and newsworthiness (criteria of newsworthiness, etc.) was done in class.
● In regard to the concepts, specifically Sources of News, Use of Internet, and Archives (part of Unit 2: IOJ Syllabus), a briefing was done to apprise the students of different segments that's to be looked at when studying the aforementioned topics.
● The rundown included a precise introduction of the points that should be focused on while studying the concept of Internet and these points are- The Emergence of Internet; Different Phases of the Internet (WWW, EMAIL, etc.); Growth of Internet; How it Changed People's Lives? (Education, Health Sector, Science and Technology, etc.); Impact on Social Life; Different Uses- Cryptocurrency( and related fields like banking, finance, etc.); Ecommerce/Shopping Platforms; Career; How Internet and Politics are Interconnected; Media and Internet- How different forms of media(Print, T.V., etc.) is represented on the Internet. And using these pointers, an essay of 2000 words or a written piece consisting of these points could be created for the topic Use of Internet.
● Tasks: Students were given a task to write about the concepts that could be discussed with reference to the Internet with the purpose of enhancing their critical thinking skills.
Active participation of students-Shreya, Shambhavi and Isha made the discussion very interesting and enlightening.
● Written Assignments: Two writing exercises were scheduled in class with reference to the following topics: a) Write a note on the differences between Print Media and Television.b) Write a note on the differences between Print Media and Radio.
● ASSIGNMENT (Internal Assessment): DEADLINE: 2nd February, 2023(Thursday)
Instructions:-
1. Handwritten Assignment ( can use a notebook or loose sheets to do the same)
2. Mention Day and Date for each Assignment.
3. Mention the word limit for each task.
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ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1.Write a note on the following topics:
Unit 1
a) Hard News and Soft News{(Add examples of the same by attaching any newspaper clipping of your choice that supports the answer as an example) 600 Words}
b) Attribution (600 Words)
c) Embargo
d) On record and Off Record (Minimum 200 Words)
e) Ingredients of News (800 Words)
Unit 2
f) Use of Archives (Minimum 400 Words)
g) Penny Press (Minimum 400 Words)
Unit 3
h) Print Journalism in India (Minimum 500 Words)
i) Online Journalism (Minimum 500 Words)
j) Citizen Journalism (Minimum 500 Words)
To help the students engage with different and unfamiliar ideas, an initiative was put forward by the Professor that the last 5 minutes of every class will include a presentation combined with discussion of an unfamiliar journalism related terminology.
Following responsibilities were undertaken by the students of the class:
a) Shreya, Shambhavi and Mahi- Writing notes (based on the concepts given in syllabus) for the blog
b) Harshita- Creating a Media Glossary (with the aim of increasing vocabulary related to Media, especially related to Print Journalism and Radio Journalism)
Athira Biju
(BATCH 2022-2026)
2 comments:
Ma'am the blogs really helped me a lot to understand
Importance of Internet to Journalism
While the internet and mobile phones are talked about for offering a better interactive platform to publish and share journalism work, the Internet and indeed mobile phones provide increased avenues for journalists to source, produce and package stories better. It is therefore important for journalists to understand how to utilize the internet and mobile phones to improve their reporting. Whether you are reporting for traditional media or new media, the internet and mobile can be used as great tools in better reporting of our stories.
The Internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks (digital devices), cooperating with each other to exchange data using a common software standard (http, ftp etc). Through telephone wires and satellite links, Internet users can share information in a variety of forms. The size, scope and design of the Internet allows users to:
connect easily through ordinary personal computers and local phone numbers;
exchange electronic mail (E-mail) with friends and colleagues with accounts on the Internet;
post information for others to access, and update it frequently;
access multimedia information that includes sound, photographic images and even video; and
access diverse perspectives from around the world.
The internet has had a marked influence on journalism practice in many ways. It is both a big platform for sourcing information, publishing and disseminating it.
Mobile Phones boost Journalism,
Many if not all journalists own a mobile phone. Mobile phones can be used to record audio, take pictures and video. Some advanced phones can be used to edit audio, photos and videos, and even publish online or forward content to editors or publishers.
You can also use the mobile phone to access the internet and search for information, interview sources whether in text (there is even live text), live audio and video (e.g. skype and Google talk)…the possibilities are many for those with mobile phones that are enabled for many of these online and mobile tools.
Since many people access the internet through their mobile phones, you can also produce and publish content target at reception through the mobile phones. Because there are many more people with mobile phones than computers, and much more people spend time with or on their mobile phones than computers, every online strategy should incorporate mobile. The line between internet and mobile is becoming more and more blurred because many more people are accessing internet through the mobile phones, while those with phones are accessing most of the news and information from the internet.
Journalists need the Internet
Since the primary job of journalists is to find information and package it for audiences, it is important for journalists to learn how to utilize the internet as key resource for better stories. A lot of information is available online, provided by media houses, journalists, governments, civil society organizations etc. The best way to find out what information is available is to search the internet.
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