Journalism

Journalism dates at least from the ‘Acta Diurna’ of Rome (a series of public announcements that can be considered the prototype of the modern newspaper), but it was not until the 15th century when the invention of printing made possible its rapid growth. Daniel Defoe has been called the first journalist, as distinct from a writer. Journalism is considered as a discipline of collecting, verifying, analyzing and presenting information gathered regarding current events, including trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as journalists.The term ‘Journalism’ has variety of meanings. According to a basic definition it is the profession of reporting or photographing or editing news stories for one of the media. It may also be defined as the collection and periodic publication or transmission of news through media such as newspaper, periodical, television, radio and internet. According to type of media Journalism can be classified as Print Journalism, Television Journalism and Blogging (controversial).

All the three types of Journalism have main activity ‘the reporting of events’ stating who, what, when, where, why and how, and explaining the significance and effect of events or trends. Journalism exists in a number of media: newspapers, television, radio, magazines and, since the end of 20th century, the Internet. Generally, publishers and consumers of journalism draw a distinction between reporting "just the facts" and opinions (such as editorials, the official opinions of the paper, and op-ed columns, "opposite the editorial page" commentary). However, this distinction sometimes can break down. Journalists may unintentionally fall prey to propaganda or disinformation. Journalists may give a biased account of facts by reporting selectively, for instance, focusing on anecdote or giving a partial explanation of actions. Foreign reporting may become more susceptible to bias, because the writers or editors of a newspaper in a given geographical area may find it more difficult to check the facts in reports about distant places. Budget cuts also can affect the bias of a story if they affect a writer or editor's resources. Second important aspect is ‘Feature Writing’. Newspapers and periodicals often contain features written by journalists, many of whom specialize in this form of "in-depth" journalism. Journalists' interaction with sources sometimes involves confidentiality. Many Western governments guarantee the freedom of the press. By extension, these freedoms sometimes also add legal protection for journalists, allowing them to keep the identity of a source private even when demanded by police or prosecutors.

Technological Advancement brought Journalistic Change in the 20th century. The teletypewriter (1904), long-range radio reception (1913), television (1930s–40s), communications satellite (1960s) transmission of data, voice, and video. Almost every new application in communications, data storage and retrieval and image processing affects the way people get their news. But some of these advancements affected the print media from negative side, i.e. people started rely on T.V journalism rather than print journalism. But print journalism has its sole importance, as it serves there, where access of other media is not possible.

By broadcasting events such as the controversial Supreme Court nomination hearings, and sensational criminal trials, television has in some ways minimized the journalist. Yet reports by journalists of the World Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation and Cable News Network, owned by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, are transmitted around the world and provide news to world leaders in times of crisis. The proliferation of cable television has led to a variety of news channels. As with print journalism, television journalism ranges from sensational, “tabloid” news shows to extensive journalistic coverage and interviews with government figures.

Recently there has been some controversy as to whether blogging constitutes a form of journalism. There have been arguments on both sides of the debate further fueled by a March 2005 court ruling in a case involving Apple Computer and several Apple rumor blogs. In that ruling the judge declared that the blogs were not entitled to journalist protections with regards to preserving the anonymity of sources because they don't qualify as a form of journalism. This set a legal precedent.

Journalism is of optimum importance in modern society and has been testified to by the establishment of schools of journalism at most of the world's leading universities. The earliest in the United States was established at the Univ. of Wisconsin (1905). Other early schools were at the Univ. of Missouri (1908) and Columbia Univ., whose school of journalism was endowed in 1903 but did not open until 1912. American schools of journalism have proliferated throughout the 20th cent.

Modern journalism, however, began in the latter years of the 18th century. Journalism has never been a monolithic enterprise, but has ranged as it continues to do from sensational pseudo fact and scandal to high-quality reporting, evaluation, and opinion. (But in case of some totalitarian state control nature of journalism proved to be monolithic)
In modern times Journalism is spread over almost all the aspects of human life. Concisely it can be divided into following general categories:

• Advocacy journalism
• Alternative journalism Broadcast journalism
• Business journalism
• Citizen journalism
• Community Journalism
• Computer-assisted reporting
• Gonzo journalism
• Electronic journalism
• Environmental journalism
• Investigative journalism
• Literary journalism related to creative nonfiction
• Muckraking Music journalism
• New journalism
• Online journalism
• Photo journalism
• Science journalism
• Sports journalism Tabloid journalism
• Trade journalism
• Yellow journalism