PART 1: THE HISTORY AND THEORY OF JOURNALISM
1. The History of Journalism
Journalism, history and democracy go hand in hand
Journalists and historians seek truth
Newspapers come and go
No guarantee of free speech in Australia
New technologies fuel advances in journalism
2. The Methodology of Journalism
Seeking truth and reporting it
Differences between reactive and proactive journalism
Journalism, history and law
The methodology of journalism defined
PART 2: WHAT IS NEWS?
3. News Values
Definitions of news
Eight functions of journalism
The ‘big six’ news values
Values often meld into each other
Kipling’s ‘six honest serving men’
The inverted pyramid
Reactive and proactive news
Journalists must distinguish between news, comment and opinion
Smoke, mirrors and frightened rabbits
Thieves and copycats
4. Journalism Ethics
Society needs news but is ambivalent
about journalists
Pragmatic reasons to be ethical
Rogue journalists threaten media freedom
Codes of ethics and codes of practice
MEAA Journalists’ Code of Ethics
Industry codes
Chequebook journalism
Journalistic integrity
5. The Newsroom and Tips for Finding Stories
The chain of command
Newsroom presentation and etiquette
Tips for finding stories
6. Dealing with Spin and Difficult Situations
Spinning webs of intrigue
Be extra careful if covering protests and riots
Reporting on death and tragedy
Acknowledge your own feelings
Making mistakes
7. Journalism Research
Ensure basic details are correct
Traditional approaches to research
How not to conduct research
Beware of online and social media traps
Computer- assisted research
Be sure to verify online information
Newspaper archives
Searching the web
Government websites
Government and corporate information
Be careful of social networking sites and blogs
Email and text messaging
The magic of crunching your own numbers
PART 3: NEWS WRITING
8. Interviewing
It is your job to convince people to talk
Breaking the ice as a student
The importance of background research
Preparing for arranged interviews
Start with the basics
Beware of liars, fantasists and clowns
Telephone and online interviews
Email interviews and SMS discussions
Categories of interview questions
Where to conduct interviews
The art of good listening
Secrets of a pregnant pause
Closing an interview
Be careful of commitments to sources
9. Writing News for Print
Build your relationship with words
Journalistic writing style
Common mistakes
Sentences and paragraphs
Introducing and quoting sources
Prepare to start writing the story
The inverted pyramid and effective intros
Different news writing models
10. Writing Broadcast News
Challenges of a changing media landscape
The critical importance of voice
Writing radio news
Radio news style
Television news
Writing television news
Television news style
11. Writing News for Online and Portable Devices
Quality the key to online success
Writing news for online and mobile devices
The inverted pyramid an ideal model
Geographic pointers are essential
Cultural, ethnic and language differences
The inverted pyramid: online version
Online headings and intros
Hyperlinks should add value and interest
Online mistakes
PART 4: OTHER FORMS OF JOURNALISM
12. Feature Writing
Feature writing and news values
Personal traits of effective feature writers
Different categories of features
Researching for features
Writing features
Feature introductions and intros
Structuring a feature
13. Investigative Journalism
Classic examples of investigative stories
Leaders in the field
Setting agendas over time
How to investigate
‘Freedom’ of access to government records (FoI)
Issues that work against investigations
Qualities of investigative journalists
14. Photojournalism
A brief history of news photography
Digital photojournalism
Three types of news photo
The mechanics of creating good photos
Working with photographers
Caption writing
PART 5: JOURNALISM LAW
15. How We Are Governed
The Commonwealth Constitution
Australia’s three tiers of government
How legislation is made
Voting in a parliament
Who’s who in a parliament?
Parliamentary privilege
The separation of powers
Two sources of law
The court hierarchy
Journalists and the fourth estate
16. Defamation
Defamation defined
Libel and slander
Defamation is a tort
Who can sue?
Time limits and penalties
Stress and chilling effects
State of mind is irrelevant
Online defamation
Defamation defences
Criminal defamation
How to minimise defamation risks
17. Contempt
Contempt of court
Contempt in the face of a court
Scandalising a court
Sub judice contempt
Restrictions on court reporting
Contempt of parliament
Contempt of commissions, inquiries and other related offences
Spent convictions
18. Other Legal Perils
Trespass and nuisance
Breach of confidence
Hidden cameras and voice recorders
Privacy
Stalking
Blasphemy
Obscenity
Censorship
Data retention
Discrimination and vilification
Sedition
Intellectual property, copyright and plagiarism
PART 6: NEWS ROUNDS
19. Courts, Crime, Councils and Sports
Working your way into a new round
Keep your round in perspective
Tread carefully with sources and think outside the square
Court reporting
Crime reporting
Council reporting
Sport reporting
Epilogue
Appendix 1: Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Journalists’ Code of Ethics
Appendix 2: Australian Press Council General Statement of Principles
Appendix 3: Links to Industry Codes of Practice and Complaints-handling Organisations
Glossary of journalism terms
Glossary of online terms
Recommended reading
