Journalism Skills Research Articles

Activity design for cultivating students' online inquiring minds and journalistic skills

Activity design for cultivating students' online inquiring minds and journalistic skills

INTERVIEW AS A SOURCE OF LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT IN THE UKRAINIAN INFORMATION SPACE

The article reveals the phenomenon of the interview as a dialogic genre in the media. The authors use the theory, practice of journalistic skills and sociological research to create a new classification of interview types; and specify conditions under which an interview takes place. Particular attention is paid to the interview-portrait, which belongs to television journalistic essays. The features of an interview-portrait and its subtypes are presented. The article describes how to create this genre in accordance with the requirements of the psychology of the relationship between the addresser and the addressee, and how to use deduction and induction methods to prepare an interview-portrait. The authors consider various aspects of preparing and conducting an interview-portrait, paying attention to the addressee’s rhetoric, his verbal and non-verbal communication in order to convey to the viewer the most complete and objective picture of the hero’s life and thoughts. The authors also conclude that all types of interviews have common requirements. In the article, the authors emphasize that professional journalists must adhere to language norms and standards to ensure clear and understandable statements, and the use of specifically Ukrainian words contributes to the preservation and development of the Ukrainian language. The study resulted in the systematization of different types of interviews and the development of a methodology for preparing and conducting a portrait interview. The article is a useful source for journalists, lecturers and students of journalism who want to increase their knowledge and skills in conducting interviews, including portrait interviews.

Journalism: As Seen in the Eyes of Current Journalism and Digital Media Students

The world of journalism is complex, multifaceted, and intricate. No consensus exists on the definition of journalism or its characteristics, skill set, and career choices. Differing perceptions stem from journalism’s shifts to new forms, practices, and ways of thought. The digital revolution has drastically transformed the understanding and definition of journalism. Journalists, journalism educators, and even social critics have all offered varying notions on the field. However, the students, a key element, are often neglected in this equation. This paper explores how students view journalism. The current generation is arguably highly equipped with digital media through regular practice, consumption, and exposure to digitization. Journalists-to-be are considered to be the future shareholders and may be the directors of the profession. The study focused on how journalism and digital media students specifically classified journalism characteristics, the educational background they found necessary for journalists, as well as their work aspirations. As journalism is evolving and, in particular, digital journalism is a key factor in the study, the student sample was limited to those registered in the Journalism and Digital Media department at Al Maaref University. Al Maaref University has been categorized as one of the first universities in Lebanon to include the term “digital media” in their journalism degree in hopes of reflecting the fast-changing industry. This study used a quantitative approach based on a survey questionnaire administered online to all students enrolled in the above-mentioned department. Findings showed that the majority of students considered the top characteristics of a journalist to include traditional journalism skills before any digital journalism skills. Students also expressed areas of study at times consistent with those skills and other times consistent with their career choices. Moreover, a majority of current journalism students aspire to work in front of the camera.

Digital Transformation of Media Companies in Lebanon from Traditional to Multiplatform Production: An Assessment of Lebanese Journalists’ Adaptation to the New Digital Era

This research aims to assess Lebanese media organizations’ and journalists’ readiness and adaptation to the new digital era requirements. Journalism has always been affected by technology. Adopting new information and communications technology has obliged changes in journalistic practices and led to new business models and journalistic practices. For example, implementing Newsroom Computer Systems (NRCs) in media companies has led to radical changes in the departments of these organizations, and in particular in the newsrooms. The journalists in newsrooms are the human factor that is considered an essential element in this change. It touched on the depths of productivity and the mode of journalistic work. In the new era of media convergence, journalists are called upon to follow this trend (modern journalism) and become more versatile, where their work becomes streamlined and redesigned. The new and more flexible journalistic practices emerging in newspaper and television production, in combination with online journalism, have a profound effect on the role of journalists and their competencies requirements. Having multi competencies is explained by mastering the basic rules (writing, etc.) in the journalism profession and digital knowledge related to this profession (visualizing data, using the digital tools necessary for work, etc.).
 This study uses quantitative, descriptive, and deductive approaches supported by a structured survey questionnaire. The sample in this research constituted 96 respondent journalists selected conveniently. Data were analyzed descriptively and reported in charts for clarity. Results show that from an overall analysis, Lebanese media organizations and journalists are moderately prepared to deal with the digital era requirements. Most of the research variables scored between 40 to 50% in terms of preparedness and functionality during the digital transformation era. The research implications show that in Lebanon, as elsewhere in the media industry, the human factor’s digital culture plays an essential role in the advancement of the companies towards the digital environment. In the Lebanese organizations’ case, the economic and monetary crisis factors besides the human factor, have affected the technical implementation and the digital transformation of the media outlets. In this media landscape, the role of academic institutions (i.e., universities and research centers) must be proactive to define the new set of digital and journalistic skills required and needed to enhance the transformation towards the digital multitasking and cross-platform profiles needed to adopt the digital mindset effectively and efficiently.

Data Journalism in Turkey: Developing a Scale and Measuring Journalists’ Skills

Data journalism has recently emerged as an important method of news gathering and editing in journalism. For data journalism -which includes the process of producing news from data- journalists need to have various skills and competencies. As a result of the literature review, it is observed that the required skills and competencies for data journalism have not been determined precisely, and in this regard, there is a lack of quantitative studies to measure these skills and competencies of data journalism. This study aims to develop a unique scale that will reveal the data journalism skills of news producers. For this purpose, a data journalism scale has been developed through an online survey applied to news producers registered with the Turkish Press Agency (BIK). As a result of the item pool, expert views, and the scale application stages, it is understood that data journalism skills can be measured with a 2-factor structure: “data skills and tools” and “journalism skills.” The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient for the overall 21-item data journalism scale was calculated as 0.856, the data skills and tools factor as 0.883, and the journalism skill factor as 0.821. As a result of the research, it has been determined that while the journalism skills of the news producers are at a high level, their competence in data processing is low. In this sense -as a result of the study- a revision is recommended in both academic and professional training curriculum to include data collection, analysis and visualization skills that will improve data skills of news producers.

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism

Implementation of Journalistic Training at Extracurricular Broadcasting “Lensa Manduta” MAN 2 Tangerang

Writing is one of the journalistic skills that have a great influence on students so they are expected to disseminate information and even express feelings to the public through written language. Journalistic media for schools is a means of information about schools, education, entertainment, and persuasion. So, with journalism training, someone will be helped in honing creativity and talent. This study aims to observe the development of journalistic insights of students through journalistic training and provide solutions to the problem of lack of journalistic insights by motivating MAN 2 Tangerang students, especially members of the Broadcasting Extracurricular Lensa Manduta to be skilled in the field of writing. The method used in this research is the descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques and observations that researchers use include observation by observing and recording activities carried out by the journalistic division of Lensa Manduta and interviews with the head of the journalistic division and the general chairman of Lensa Manduta. The results of this study are that the journalistic training was opened interactively, the members listened to the material presented, and were quite responsive in practice to the field. In addition, they are quite familiar with the terms in journalism, such as journals, and codes of ethics, as well as a very good understanding of news, it's just that they don't know the whole, such as the types of news consisting of hard news, soft news, and straight news.
 Keywords: Journalistic training, extracurricular, writing, Lensa Manduta MAN 2 Tangerang

Implementation of Journalistic Training at Extracurricular Broadcasting “Lensa Manduta” MAN 2 Tangerang

Writing is one of the journalistic skills that have a great influence on students so they are expected to disseminate information and even express feelings to the public through written language. Journalistic media for schools is a means of information about schools, education, entertainment, and persuasion. So, with journalism training, someone will be helped in honing creativity and talent. This study aims to observe the development of journalistic insights of students through journalistic training and provide solutions to the problem of lack of journalistic insights by motivating MAN 2 Tangerang students, especially members of the Broadcasting Extracurricular Lensa Manduta to be skilled in the field of writing. The method used in this research is the descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques and observations that researchers use include observation by observing and recording activities carried out by the journalistic division of Lensa Manduta and interviews with the head of the journalistic division and the general chairman of Lensa Manduta. The results of this study are that the journalistic training was opened interactively, the members listened to the material presented, and were quite responsive in practice to the field. In addition, they are quite familiar with the terms in journalism, such as journals, and codes of ethics, as well as a very good understanding of news, it's just that they don't know the whole, such as the types of news consisting of hard news, soft news, and straight news.
 Keywords: Journalistic training, extracurricular, writing, Lensa Manduta MAN 2 Tangerang

БЛОГ І ПОДКАСТ ЯК РОЗВИТОК ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ КОМЕНТАТОРА ТА ОГЛЯДАЧА РАДІО- І ТЕЛЕМОВЛЕННЯ

<p><strong><em>The purpose </em></strong><em>of the article is to determine the trends in the professional development of radio and television observers and commentators in the context of the use of Internet communication resources and tools, in particular blogs and podcasts.</em></p><p><strong><em>Research methodology. </em></strong><em>In the analysis of the outlined topic, social communication, social information communication and axiological approaches are used, methods of content analysis, synthesis and generalization are the main methods that were used in the process of scientific research.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results. </em></strong><em>A blog and a podcast in the modern conditions of the development of the information space (the global importance of Internet technologies, covid-19, informational and social upheavals caused by a full-scale war in Ukraine) are an effective way to develop the professional activity of a Ukrainian commentator and broadcaster reviewer. This is an opportunity not only to preserve one’s audience in the conditions of the current crisis and military Russian aggression against Ukraine, to monetize one’s work in social networks, but also to use one’s professional journalistic skills, to improve journalistic skills in other media niches.<strong> </strong></em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty</em></strong><em>. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the use of various theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the nature of blogs and podcasts as media platforms for realizing the creative potential of commentators and reviewers of television and radio broadcasting, the latest means of communication with a modern audience. </em></p><p><strong><em>Practical</em></strong><em> <strong>significance. </strong>The practical significance of the results is determined by the growing role of Internet media in society as a means of communication in a global crisis time (covid-19 and the war in the center of Europe) and in the formation of new trends in the journalistic environment, which makes it possible to use research materials in the process of analyzing specific aspects of journalistic skill in order to reveal new aspects of the creative personality of the commentator and reviewer of television and radio broadcasting.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> podcast, blog, commentator, columnist, broadcast, subscribers, online media, audience, content, social networks.</em></p>

The simulated newsroom: A novel educational innovation to teach advocacy skills to resident physicians.

Advocacy is a key competency of Canadian residency education, yet physicians seldom engage with supraclinical advocacy efforts upon completion of training. The objective was to equip participants with the knowledge and skills required to engage as physician-advocates in their communities using opinion writing as a tool. We used Kern's six-step framework to leverage a common medical training method, simulation, to teach journalistic skills related to advocacy in our novel "simulated newsroom." Two emergency physicians with journalism training and workplace experience developed simulated newsroom workshops. The simulated newsroom consisted of participants acting as journalists and the expert facilitator acting as a news editor over two workshops. The participants were encouraged to write and workshop an article with colleagues. Participants were invited to participate in a semistructured focus group and to submit their article for qualitative analysis. Focus group transcripts and written work were qualitatively analyzed to understand acceptability and feasibility and how participants might engage as future health advocates. Twelve participants registered for the workshops and six attended. All six participated in the focus group; four submitted written work. The innovation bolstered participants' confidence in advocacy through the popular press and provided demonstrable skills in opinion writing. Participants valued the workshop as a voluntary component of residency education led by physicians with journalism expertise. The simulated newsroom may be an effective mechanism for increasing confidence and competence in advocacy writing.

The discourses of data journalism

Becoming a data literate, technologically competent journalist is represented as a desirable goal that will benefit the individual, the industry and society as a whole. Data journalism skills are increasingly being taught in journalism programmes around the world. This article applies Foucault’s distinctive conceptualisation of discourse to critically examine data journalism as constructed in the ‘talk’ of its most visible pioneers. The analysis is driven by three distinctive aspects of Foucault’s theory of discourse – power, knowledge and materiality. Using these tools, I investigate how data journalism knowledge is produced, the practices that reinforce it and the strategic power relations it conceals. I argue that data journalism draws on four discourses – journalism, technology, enterprise and citizenship – and wraps itself in the power relations embedded in these prestigious discourses. I argue that there is a political imperative for journalism educators to examine these power relations because material injustices along race, gender, class lines are built into them and have consequences for our students and society.

Unpacking Value Creation Dynamics in Journalism Education. A Covid-19 Case Study

ABSTRACT The physical closure of universities and university colleges due to Covid-19 has accelerated the digitalization of journalism teaching to a record speed. The pandemic, and the severe restrictions on-campus attendance, radically altered J schools’ value proposition to their students, turning the teaching of practical journalistic skills primarily into a forced blended learning experience. This study, through proposing a conceptual model for unpacking value creation dynamics in journalism education, explores this shift and how journalism students responded to it. We find, through applying the model to a multiplatform journalism course at the bachelor level, that the online teaching environment was experienced as being inferior to physical teaching, despite the availability of flexible digital learning resources that students could use at their convenience. Ample opportunities for online interaction between students and teachers were not a satisfactory substitute for physical campus teaching. This study questions how, based on this, face-to-face interaction between journalism students and teachers best can be replaced, especially in terms of creating a safe learning environment and facilitating students’ learning by doing.

Bangladesh health journalism: A pilot study exploring the nature and quality of newspaper health reporting

Introduction: The media is an important source of health-related information for patients, general public, policymakers and health professionals and has a large influence on their knowledge and opinions. No studies so far have explored the content, nature and quality of health journalism in Bangladesh. Objectives: To i) explore the nature and quality of media coverage of health stories in Bangladeshi newspapers, ii) understand the perceptions of reporters about medical- and health journalism, including the perceived barriers and facilitators, and iii) identify factors influencing health reporting. Methods: In a mixed-method pilot study, during a five-month period, all medical and healthcare related news articles published in three leading Bangladeshi daily newspapers (N=461), were content analyzed, and journalists were asked in a questionnaire about their knowledge and medical skills. Results: Only 44% of the articles reported in a positive tone on health services aspects, while 27.1% were related to malpractice or treatment errors. Many articles contained questionable medical information (49.9%), mostly regarding unregistered clinicians (67.5%), often referred to as ‘doctor’. Treatment errors by unregistered clinicians were reported seven times more often than those by registered physicians (p<0.001). A survey was completed by 23 selected medical- or health journalists (77% response); most of them (78.3%) had no previous training in health journalism and in only 26.1% this was offered by their media house. Journalists self-reported their own insufficient understanding of medical terminology (73.9%), ethics (95.7%) and relevant laws (91.3%). Conclusion: This study is an eye opener about shortage of medical knowledge among health journalists in a developing country. This shortage may often result in misinformation regarding medical (mal)practice, health laws and ethics. There is ample room for improvement of the quality of health news reporting and health journalism skills in Bangladesh. N=287

ПРОФЕСІЙНІ ВИМОГИ ДО ЖУРНАЛІСТСЬКОГО ФАХУ: КОМПЕТЕНТНІСНИЙ ПІДХІД

<p><strong><em>The purpose</em></strong><em> of the study was to identify the mainstream journalistic competencies which are demanded by the employment market today. </em></p><p><strong><em>Research methods.</em></strong><em> With the help of content analysis of vacancy announcements for journalists, the most frequent professional requirements addressed to applicants by employers for the relevant positions were identified. The sample consisted of vacancy advertisements from two popular job search websites work.ua and ua.jooble.org with a total of 70 text units. The chronological boundaries of the sample amounted to 1 month. Territorial borders are the cities of Dnipro and Kyiv. The identified professional requirements were systematised on the basis of Z. Weischenberg competency model supplemented by the latest journalistic competencies, which were updated in connection with the needs of the time. Methods of analysis such as synthesis and generalisation were used to interpret the results of content analysis. </em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> The conducted content-analytical research allowed to draw conclusions about the ratio of both established and new competencies that characterise the journalistic profession. It was found that journalistic skills, represented by a number of instrumental skills, define all the types of journalistic positions, regardless of specialisation and functional features. The results of the content analysis also allowed us to state the interest of employers in the skills required when working in cross-media and social networks. Higher education as a requirement for candidates was presented in less than 50% of advertisements, while the experience was updated in almost 80% of the analysed vacancies. These data correlate with today’s popular approaches to the deinstitutionalisation of journalism education, its transfer to the practical-applied field. In the United States, in particular, it is presented by the model of education as a training hospital, while in Germany it is built in accordance with the Dortmund model. It is stated that the practice of opening of media-based schools of journalism is gradually being introduced in Ukraine. </em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty.</em></strong><em> For the first time, professional requirements for journalists were systematised on the basis of content analysis of vacancy advertisements. Competency priorities of employers were revealed. </em></p><p><strong><em>Practical significance.</em></strong><em> The results and conclusions can be used to optimise the competency model of journalism education.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><strong><em>words</em></strong><em>: competencies, professional requirements, journalism, employment market, media industry, model of journalism education.</em></p>

Jokers or Journalists? A Study of Satirists’ Motivations, Role Orientations, and Understanding of Satire

ABSTRACT This study contributes to recent discussions about the role of satire in public communication. We conducted qualitative expert interviews with 13 satirists in Germany to explore their understanding of satire, their motivations and role orientations as well as their perceptions of satire in relation to journalism and the factors they perceive to influence their role performances. The findings indicate that satirists perceive their business to be multifaceted and diverse and do not strictly distinguish between political satire and apolitical comedy. They identify with the accommodative role of the entertainer and roles connected to the development of public opinion while being reluctant to adopt interventionist roles. Even though professionalization in satire involves acquiring journalistic skills, the interviewees consider themselves to complement rather than substitute journalistic reporting. The findings also indicate strong politicization in satire that results from satirists standing up for their political beliefs. Finally, politicization and normativity in satire are influenced by media organizations and the perception of the political climate. By focusing on the producers of satire, the study extends previous research dominated by studies on satirical content and its effects.

“Ebony” Magazine and Lerone Bennett Jr.: Popular Black History in Postwar America

“Ebony” Magazine and Lerone Bennett Jr.: Popular Black History in Postwar America

Belgian Journalists in Lockdown: Survey on Employment and Working Conditions and Representations of Their Role

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an important paradox: it has reminded us of the importance of the news media and the central place it occupies in the public space in times of crisis. At the same time, it has showed the major difficulties the industry faces in Belgium and elsewhere in the world. The lockdown disrupted the employment and practices of many journalists in ways that may reveal the contemporary tensions between professional identity and working conditions more clearly than in average news cycles. In order to understand what the Belgian French-speaking journalists went through during the first lockdown, we conducted a survey about the implications of the crisis for their employment status and work practices. This survey also covered their perceptions concerning their social role, their journalistic skills and the quality of their work covering the COVID-19 crisis. The responses show a sharp contrast between challenging working conditions (isolation, lack of expertise and job losses in worst cases) and the satisfaction that comes from the social contribution of their reporting. In order to interpret the results, we consider the theory of valuation as a framework to understand the attachment of journalists to their work and how they practise it.

The concept “Information” as a factor in Bernard Werber’s style

The article investigates the concept “information” and its elements in the general creative activity conception of the French writer Bernard Werber through the analysis of his original work “The Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge”, each short story represents a narrative, a recommendation, a principle, a formula from various fields of popular science. It is pointed out that the author presents some scientific data in a simplified way, other facts are given in a purely professional one, thereby Bernard Werber demonstrates his own competence in the fields of history, mathematics, biology, astronomy, etc., as well as journalistic skills. It is stated that such diverse correlations exist due to the writer's passion for science and history, personal life experience in these areas, and all this ultimately stimulates readers' thinking, which is the main goal of Werber's creative activity. The article explores the correlative plane, which combines data from many branches of science in a historical context, that generally forms an informative complex containing the issues about the history of tribes and peoples (Maya, Aztecs, Arabs, Chinese, etc.), their legends and beliefs (Atlanteans, the origin of a man, pyramids, etc.), wars (episodes of individual military stalemate), religions (conflicts between paganism and Christianity, the Inquisition, etc.), technology and architecture (erection and structure of historical monuments, temples), the natural world (features of physiology) people, ants, dinosaurs), games (particularly about chess combining psychological and historical components). “The Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge” also includes the facts about many historical figures who have made significant contributions to the study and formation of the general noosphere. It is concluded that the writer by providing an array of diverse information in “The Encyclopedia of Relative and Absolute Knowledge” gets the reader not only to be a recipient of ready knowledge, but also to set up new tasks that need to be solved, and the main one among them is life mission understanding.

Journalism education in the post-truth era: an exploration of the voices of journalism students in Greece and Cyprus

ABSTRACT Journalism is in a state of flux and so is journalism education. The present study engages in a comparative qualitative analysis focusing on the viewpoints of journalism students in Greece and in Cyprus regarding journalism education in the post–truth era, media literacy, and journalism quality. Drawing upon evidence from four focus groups conducted in the journalism/communication departments of two public universities in Greece and Cyprus, the findings show highly similar attitudes between the two departments. In particular, it was found that journalism students acknowledge the need for journalists’ increased responsibility towards their publics and emphasize the necessity of (normative) skills and practices as important means in the direction of quality journalism; ICT-related journalistic skills, in-depth research, specialization, impartiality and verification, topic plurality and avoidance of agenda-setting stereotypes.

LINGUOSTYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF WORD-FORMING AND MORPHOLOGICAL MEANS IN JOURNALISTIC TEXT

In modern media, materials which are characterized by skillful organization of language tools to reveal the topic and focus on the recipient, are highly valued. Having professional journalistic skills and a thorough knowledge of the language helps to create texts according to such requirements. Actual in this context is the formation of skills in the years of study related to the observation of the linguistic and stylistic skills of practicing journalists. The purpose of the article is to present the sequence and example of linguistic-stylistic analysis of a journalistic text to clarify the place and role of word-forming and morphological means that form the semantic background and communicative orientation of the message.
 Methodological bases of linguistic and stylistic analysis of word-forming and morphological means are a set of approaches that take into account: selection of the publication according to certain criteria (relevance of the topic, genre, authorship, etc.); the structure of tokens and grammatical features of individual parts of speech that create the semantic and stylistic expressiveness of a particular journalistic text. Among the research methods are linguistic analysis, compositional-textual and functional-semantic analysis, the method of establishing semantic-functional paradigms, the quantitative method, and others.
 Results of the research. A linguistic and stylistic analysis of O. Suprunenko’s publication «Chym Pakhne Yevropa» («What does Europe smell like?») (Post-Postup. 2008) demonstrates the course of consideration of word-forming and part-of-speech means of a professional text; shows a way of coherent and consistent presentation of their own observations and opinions. In the analyzed text there is objective information, which includes specific names, words with direct meaning, construction terminology, quotes. Subjective information is the author’s reasoning about the topic covered. The tone of its disclosure is informative and skeptical, which aims to provoke a corresponding reaction from the reader. Stylistic originality of the presentation of the theme is manifested in the use of appropriate linguistic and stylistic means: individual innovations, the expressive potential of grammatical categories of nouns, adjectives, verbs, as well as in the creation of ironic imagery.
 Stylistic analysis of the text by language levels is an effective means of forming language and speech competence, as it develops the skills of identifying stylistic means in the text and determining their functions to reveal the author’s intention. This form of work also has a research and creative purpose, as it encourages careful study of the stylistic potential of certain means of speech and independently explain their feasibility in a particular text.