Elements of Journalism: Additional Ideas and Comments on Kovach & Rosenstiel

As the fall semester winds down, I want to give you a chance to make some final comments on the nature and purpose of journalism and free expression. In other words, I want you to spend some quality time with the last few chapters of the Kovach and Rosenstiel book so that you can make some thoughtful comments on the ideas you find there. More precisely, take a look at chapters 7-11 in The Elements of Journalism and select an important idea or two from the text to discuss on this blog.

Questions: What key idea or ideas do Kovach and Rosenstiel advance in the last half of their book? Why is this idea significant? What does this idea contribute to the history and philosophy of free expression or the advancement of American journalism? How does this idea make the individual, the society or our democracy better?

As always, the quality of your comment is more important than the length of your post. Also, specific ideas based on short quotations from the text are better than vague ideas based on generalities. 

Journalism and the Problem of Objectivity

In The Elements of Journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel write about objectivity and its role in contemporary journalism. More specifically, the authors note that objectivity has lost its meaning in journalism and needs to be replaced by other ways of thinking about reporting.

Questions: Based on your reading of Elements of Journalism, write a commentary that addresses the following questions. What is the problem with objectivity? Why and how did objectivity lose its meaning in journalism? What do the authors propose as a replacement for objectivity? Will this replacement work? If so, how well?

As always, write a paragraph or two that addresses these questions in a thoughtful and specific way. Remember to sign your posting.