Here I am, finally back to blogging after a long hiatus, due to different (professional and personal) reasons.

 

In this post, I would like to talk about some of the aspects that were analyzed during the journalism course I attended in spring.

Some of these I already mentioned in my first post, but let’s take a look at them in more detail.

 

READERSHIP:

When writing an article, the first thing to consider is who would be interested in it.

 

The reader’s interest depends on:

–      physical

–      cultural

–      ideological or

–      psychological (sense of identification)

closeness to the publication.

 

Two of the elements which make a piece of news sound interesting are novelty and drama: a negative event is always news, while a positive one somehow appears less catchy.

 

Moreover newspapers, or publications in general, follow a specific division according to:

 

–      TARGET (reader’s hobbies, categories, specific social or cultural groups)

–      READER’S SEX

–      READER’S AGE

–      GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

–      COST (free publications, cover price, free offer)

 

APPROACH:

Different means of communication have different approaches to journalism. For instance, the speed of publication is essential on the Internet, while for the press it’s the frequency that counts (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

 

ADVERTISING:

A vital element of a newspaper is advertising, which can even influence the journalist.

In fact, journalists tend to censor themselves based on the financial interests of the newspaper they work for, and therefore can never be objective.

The more varied the ads, the less conditioned the publication.

Even the magazines that sometimes are sold together with some newspapers were created mostly for advertising reasons. They address mostly women and young people, who usually tend to read the newspapers less.

These magazines were therefore created to reach an audience that was not accessible before.

 

ARTICLE:

The backbone of a newspaper are obviously the articles, which follow a structure based on 5 elements:

 

–      Who (protagonists)

–      Where

–      When

–      What

–      Why (the most important element)

 

A true journalist is the one who finds out why something happened.

 

EDITORIAL LINE:

The choice of what to publish depends on the type of publication and on the geographical area, but also on the so-called ‘Editorial line’, which in turn depends on:

 

–      The OWNER, who invests in the publication but has nothing to do with it

–      The PUBLISHER: who manages the publication

–      The EDITOR IN CHIEF: who is chosen by the publisher and selects the journalists (for a new publication, otherwise he/she can hire someone new)

 

SOURCES:

The sources provide useful information to the journalist and are different according to the topic of the article. In fact, they can be:

 

–      INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES: i.e. press offices

–      INSTITUTIONS: Police, firefighters, doctors, etc.

 

Sources with important information can influence the journalist.

Information has a price. Quality journalism is when a reporter goes on location and gathers information on an event, but all this represents a significant cost for the newspaper.

 

 

These are just some of the main elements which make a newspaper (or publication in general).

 

In my next post, I will talk about the interviews, a type of article that can be challenging for a journalist, but also inspiring.

Meanwhile, feel free to add your comments or contributions on today’s topics.