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An Introduction To Journalism
An Introduction To Journalism
I
n the beginning, so it is said, was the word. And words were woven into
sentences. And sentences were crafted to communicate ideas and events
and dreams and hopes. Out of these developed the elaborate story. In
Africa’s past, palace linguists and itinerant griots were the professional
storytellers who captured the hearts of communities with yarns that
entertained, or anecdotes that taught lessons, or chronicles that recalled
history, or fairytales that sought to investigate meaning in their life. They
also told tales of feats of love and war. And town criers proclaimed official
pronouncements from the palace.
And so, what do people mean then when they say “Journalism is
storytelling with a purpose”? For even gossip has a purpose.
Well. The principal difference between a journalist and the gossip, the
griot and the palace linguist and the town crier is that she tells the same
stories but follows a rigor that strips all her biases in the process of
providing her community of receivers with news it needs to understand its
environment. The purpose of her news is to inform, educate, entertain, or
otherwise influence and persuade the receiver to behave according to a
prescribed manner. The desired behavioral outcome could be of a civil
nature (such as a campaign to participate in national elections), or social
(for citizens to observe basic personal hygiene in the midst of a cholera
epidemic), or cultural (to ensure compliance to the Ga Mashie Aduŋ̍m̺a, the
traditional ban on noise-making in parts of Accra) etc.
Welcome to the world of Journalism, where traditionally speaking, a
reporter’s professional challenges are as daunting as an obstacle course run.
Like the griot, or even the town crier, she as Sender of information must
live in the same world as the Receiver and even enjoy shared experiences,
but she must also provide - in a meaningful, relevant, and engaging way -
stories the community needs to live a normal life...in a timely manner. This
she must do - and be seen to be doing – without personal bias or prejudice.
Nana S. Achampong
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Introduction to Journalism
succeeded completely in stifling free speech. Still, the streets were awash
with hundreds of private newspapers, albeit basically focused on stories and
numbers about sports and lotto.
Fortunately, with the help of a new crop of newspapers, notable among
them being the Free Press, The Christian Messenger, and The Catholic
Standard, boundaries were pushed and the ‘silence’ was eventually broken.
In that respect, resolute practitioners like Tommy Thompson, John
Kugblenu and George Naykene put their reputations on the line and, for
that, bore the full brunt of the fury of government and its interior security
machinery. International eyes were brought to bear on local dealings. And
in 1992, the fourth republic was birthed.
Change soon came in the way news was reported as a consequence of
increased economic gains, massive rural-to-urban drift, the liberalization of
the media ownership landscape, and, paradoxically, decreasing literacy
rates. By the late-1990s, radio and television had started to surpass print,
and so newspapers began to add more politics and feature sections to
compensate and maintain readership. Today, the state-ran national papers
Graphic, Mirror, Times, and Spectator are the only visible, credible models
on the newsstands. Representing the hitherto thriving private press is the
Daily Guide.
There is not much research in the area of media consumer behavior in
the country yet, but the Ghanaian public alas seems to have reverted to the
sensationalism that dominated neighboring countries while the nation
languished in the Aborted Generation period. Like the Americans during
the Penny Press era, the idea of news for many Ghanaians is basically stories
that are focused on sex, violence, death, dishonor, disaster, the outrageous
and the bizarre. Today, Ghanaians seem more likely to prefer entertainment-
centered coverage to “serious” relevant information. A study conducted by
Jima et. al, ‘English vs. Akan language usage and professionalism in radio
broadcasting: a comparative study of Joy FM and Adom FM’ at African
University College of Communications (which this author supervised),
found that radio stations that produced lower-quality news programs in
vernacular, were more likely to have higher ratings than those that produced
world-class ones with ‘serious’ news value (2017).
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Introduction to Journalism
assessment exercises. Students will notice that most of the exercises are not
followed by closed answers. This is because there are few right/wrong
answers to ethical questions: the aim of the questions is to engage the reader
with the issues, and help them develop a framework for dealing with such
concerns in their own reporting experience.
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CHAPTERONE
Media in Society
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Introduction to Journalism
W
here would you go for the latest premier league scores, or the
most current happenings at Flagstaff House? Where can you
find your favorite soap opera to watch, or feel part of the
prevailing trend? If you needed to listen to your favorite music, where
would you go? Almost invariably, the answer to any of these questions will
be one, a combination of, or all of the following: newspapers, radio,
television, or the internet. These are the sources that most Ghanaians turn
to for their news and information. These sources – when combined - are
what is termed Mass Media. It is also sometimes generally referred to
simply as ‘The Media’ or more confusingly as ‘The Press’, which
incidentally is sometimes synonymous to ‘Journalism’. Whew!
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oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” This was
Malcolm X in 1964 calling the American media out before a crowd in New
York City’s Audubon Ballroom, where he would be assassinated less than
one year later.
Kirsten West Savali writes that “Media injustice, which leads to both the
erasure and criminalization of marginalized communities, has had dire
consequences for both the psyches and lived experiences of black people in
the United States since at least the 18th century, when newspapers ran lost-
and-found ads for runaway slaves” (The Root, 2015). The mass media has
been blamed for many ills in society.
Critics even say the media has, among its core raisons d’être, the
neocolonialist strategy of deliberately targeting African peoples with a view
to destroying their values. And there are more than ample instances to
support this assertion. Others claim it numbs and desensitizes poor
consumers from the realities of life by glorifying violence and hate. This
too is evident in many cases.
Recent examples of the mass media at its worst include agenda that have
resulted in the upsurge of toxic rap music on the airwaves, the use of hair-
straightening and skin-lightening chemicals among the general African
public, the carnage in Rwanda that was spurred on by radio, antisocial
behavior especially among the youth based on devious Eurocentric
programs usually strewn on television, terrible fashion sense (such as the
comeback of the romper – thanks to social networking on the internet), and
poor life choices for those that love the sedentary life leading to obesity.
This last example is more prevalent among people in wealthier societies.
The underlining logic though is that human beings are generally
influenced by repetition, clever marketing and peer pressure, qualities the
mass media is master of.
Fortunately, its influence on society is not always negative: newspapers
can be credited for sparking the fire in most liberation struggles in Africa.
In Ghana in particular, rural radio was the medium that was used post-
independence to increase literacy where there were no formal education
systems; also, the Information Services Department of the Ministry of
Information has increased knowledge considerably in both civic obligations
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Introduction to Journalism
E
very time, everywhere, everyone is communicating something. The
vast majority of these conversations, however, are pointless babble.
One cannot describe them as ‘News’, more so ‘Journalism’. Most
email traffic for instance is spam; almost all tweets are rubbish. Radio and
television fill time by carrying infomercials, other advertisements and
opinions of self-serving individuals and special interests for the most part
on air.
News, the end product of journalism, may be just a smidgen in the
milieu, but it is what keeps the wheels of the media turning.
To put it simply, Mass Communication is the procedure of conveying
messages to the general public through media like radio, newspapers,
magazines, television, internet and so on; Journalism is the compilation and
transmission of news through the mass media. In other words, journalism
feeds the mass media with information that is professionally processed for
public consumption. Without journalism, the mass media will be just a
repository of opinion and advertisements.
There is no accepted definition of Journalism but everybody ‘knows’
intuitively what it does. This is partly because of the rise of Internet
communications, in which people without experience or qualifications
present themselves as reporters or commentators. These days, anyone with
a smartphone in the remotest hamlet of Ghana can contribute to the mass
media as a citizen journalist by covering and transmitting on-the-spot or
breaking news. Their contribution is encouraged by receivers who self-limit
the information they receive and grant credibility to information that
supports their point of view (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism,
2017).
And yet Journalism is often referred to as ‘the fourth pillar of the state’,
or ‘the fourth estate’ (following the three branches of government). Its rights
are stated in most constitutions that guarantee the freedom of speech. Wolf
Schneider, the famous German journalist, defined it as a profession that
“[cuts] a path of information through the jungle of worldly affairs and
[keeps] an eye on the people in power” (ibid). According to the American
Press Institute, it is “the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and
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Why Journalism?
“The purpose of journalism,” according to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel
in The Elements of Journalism, “is not defined by technology, nor by
journalists or the techniques they employ.” Rather, “the principles and
purpose of journalism are defined by something more basic: the function
news plays in the lives of people.” Kovach and Rosenstiel say the purpose
of journalism is “to provide citizens with the information they need to make
the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their
societies, and their governments” (2007).
The auto-response to the question ‘Why Journalism?’ is usually along
the lines of “To inform, to educate and to entertain.” Add to that “to provide
advocacy and voice for the vulnerable in society”, and “to act as a watchdog
to keep the tendencies of authority in check”. These are noble ideals; they
constitute the Public Good. And they present the profession and its
practitioners as being devoted to the good of the citizen.
In reality though, devotion to the public comes second; the main purpose
of journalism is two-fold:
Is Journalism Propaganda?
Journalism may be used for propaganda, but the two are not the same. Both
seek to influence the receiver; and for both, their first obligation is to their
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employers (and house style in the case of the journalist). That, after all, is
existential logic.
The main difference between Journalism and Propaganda is that in the
course of meeting their existential obligations, in spite of the contractual
allegiance to their employers, a journalist has to, somehow, place the public
good above all else. This is the landmine of the profession on which the
trained practitioner treads softly by following rigor - the foundation of
which Kovach and Rosenstiel call “a discipline of verification” – to gather
and assess what she finds (ibid).
Propaganda, on the other hand, places the cause (of persuasion) above
all else. Bias and prejudice are clearly exhibited. And it is only the end
(influencing the receiver) that justifies her content and tactics.
An example:
Residents of Nima, a working-class neighborhood in Accra, complain that
an unoccupied house is being used for prostitution and hard drugs business.
Neighbors want the house torn down. The owner, who lives in affluent East
Legon, also in Accra, is an architect who says the building has historic
value and that she eventually intends to restore the house.
The neighbors blame the owner for leaving the property in disrepair,
which they say invites criminals. The owner blames the neighbors for
allowing criminal activity in their neighborhood, activity that she says
hinders her plans to restore the building.
This story does not belong at the top of a newscast, but it brings up a
variety of important issues: public safety, preserving historic buildings,
absentee owners, and disputes among differing groups about urban
planning and city priorities. It may well be the most talked about story in
the neighborhood at that time, and because the issues it raises reverberate
in society, it is worth reporting.
[NB: Chapter 1 Self-assessment Exercise on page 96]
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CHAPTERTWO
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L
ike many businesses, news organizations function under tight,
hierarchical structures that ensure command and control. At the top
of the pyramid is the owner, the CEO. The role of the CEO in a
radio or television company is akin to the role of the publisher at a
newspaper. Her role is to view the news organization in the larger context
of the company’s overall business and to steer it in the direction that best
serves its needs. In most cases, the CEO/Publisher is the money person or
represents the money person with the agenda. She needs a professional
journalist to realize her dreams. Her prayers are answered when she finds a
seasoned, ambitious, forward-thinking journalist to assume the role of
Editor-in-Chief.
The Editor-in-Chief, EIC, runs the Newsroom which is the production
hub of the business. She is complemented by an Advertising (or/and a
Traffic) Department that sells space and/or time to businesses so the news
organization can survive and thrive. [The Traffic Department schedules
advertizing and promotions in line with the station’s business strategy with
an aim to maximizing revenue].
A Marketing/Business Development Department also works on events
to capitalize on special dates and occurrences in the future such as holidays
to advise the production of special reports and programs. Actual physical
printing or broadcasting is handled by a Technical Department that may
come under several names depending on whether the outfit is electronic or
print.
In print, a Circulations Department ensures that publications are on the
newsstands and in subscribers’ homes on time, and that returns are brought
back to Accounts Department for reckoning.
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gathered stories are re-written, put together, edited and assembled for the
news broadcast, telecast or newspaper.
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slipping into print. They also ensure that all copy adheres to the house style
of the media organization.
The number of jobs and people working in the newsroom varies depending
on the size of the media outlet. In a smaller organization, the newsroom will
probably feature only a couple of journalists and a photographer, sound
recordist or camera person. In larger media outlets, such as metropolitan
newspapers, radio or television, the newsroom is much bigger, with larger
staff.
The number of jobs and people working in the newsroom will also vary
depending on whether the media house is electronic or print. These days,
many reporters receive their assignments while they are about town, and
they file their news from the location of the story. In any case, professional
roles in any newsroom (either electronic or print) may include:
Journalists/reporters.
Photographers.
Camera operators.
Sound and lighting technicians (for electronic).
Producers
Editing room staff (who are in charge of cutting and compiling
stories for television and radio).
Specialist desks e.g. Sports, Foreign
Copy or sub-editors (who edit newspaper journalists' stories and
check them for any legal, factual or other problems before
publication).
Receptionists and News Desk coordinators.
Archive or Library staff (sometimes)
Graphic designers
Editors either in charge of sections of the media's coverage, or of
its overall coverage.
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Introduction to Journalism
E
ach newsroom has differences; they can be slight or they can be
significant. There are differences between newsrooms of similar
media outlets (for example, different radio stations); there are larger
differences between, say, television and newspaper newsrooms. Only by
working with an individual media outlet and developing a solid relationship
over time can one gain a little more insight into how it works.
1. Stories come into the newsroom. This can occur in a number of ways,
some of which are:
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Introduction to Journalism
5. When stories or news items are completed, they are usually checked
to ensure they are factually correct, make sense and adhere to any
legal requirements.
6. Even at this late stage things can change if a big news story occurs.
As stated earlier, each newsroom works differently, but these are the
general steps journalists take to bring news to the public.
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CHAPTERTHREE
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What is News?
T
here is no one definition that encapsulates the complex phenomenon
that is NEWS. News may be perceived differently depending on the
society one lives in, or one’s level of sophistication. Its definition
may be influenced by culture, politics, literacy level and even sense of
humor. Ultimately though, everything depends on what is considered news
value.
The notion of news value should be seen less as a reflection of what type
of information citizens want or need, and more as a reflection of
organizational, sociological and cultural norms combined with economic
factors (Weaver et al., 2007).
No matter what hemisphere one lives in however, news stories must
generally satisfy one or more of the following requirements to make the cut:
10. Newspaper agenda: Stories must set or fit the news organization’s
own agenda (Harcup and O'Neill, 2001). This was offered, not as
the last word on news values, but merely as a contribution towards
“rendering news selection a more transparent and better-understood
process” (ibid).
The bystander here has done the job of a reporter in summarizing a news
event. A traditional reporter would write the same story like this:
“Two children at play were killed today when a sports car jumped
the curb outside Rawlings Park and ran them down.
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What the reporter has attempted to do is answer in the lead all the likely
questions that any receiver may have. This she managed by answering the
5 Ws and the H. They are Who, What, Why, When, Where and How. Why
are the 5 Ws and 1 H important? Journalism purists will argue a story is not
complete until it answers all six questions. It is hard to argue this point,
since missing any of these questions is likely to leave a hole in a story. Now
let’s look at what information was gathered with the 5 Ws and the H in the
scenario above.
What happened? They were killed when a sports car ran them
down.
How did it happen? The two children were at play outside when
the sports car jumped the curb and ran them down.
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Introduction to Journalism
J
ournalists usually describe the organization or structure of a straight-
forward news story as an “inverted pyramid”. The essential and most
interesting elements of the story are put at the beginning. In other
words, the 5 Ws and the H are answered at the beginning, in the first
paragraph, which is called (i) the Lead. Supporting information follows in
(ii) the body of the story. Other related information occupies (iii) the tail.
The story therefore progresses in order of diminishing importance [See
diagram on page22].
The Lead
The first paragraph, the introduction, is called the Lead which is the
foundation of every news story, no matter the medium. With so many
sources of information – newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and the Internet
– receivers simply are not willing to read beyond the first paragraph (and
sometimes even the first sentence) of a story unless it grabs their interest. A
good lead does just that: it gives readers the most important information in
a clear, concise and interesting manner. It also establishes the voice and
direction of an article.
1. The 5 W’s and H: Before writing a lead, decide which aspect of the
story – who, what, when, where, why, how – is most important. You
should emphasize those aspects in your lead. Wait to explain less
important aspects until the second or third sentence (Hohenberg,
1978).
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4. Brevity: Readers want to know why the story matters to them and
they won’t wait long for the answer. Leads are often one sentence,
sometimes two. Generally, they are 25 to 30 words and should rarely
be more than 40. This is somewhat arbitrary, but it’s important –
especially for young journalists – to learn how to deliver information
concisely.
5. Active sentences: Strong verbs will make your lead lively and
interesting. Passive constructions, on the other hand, can sound dull
and leave out important information, such as the person or thing that
caused the action. Incomplete reporting is often a source of passive
leads.
6. Receiver and context: Take into account what your reader already
knows. Remember that in today’s media culture, most readers
become aware of breaking news as it happens. If you’re writing for
a print publication the next day, your lead should do more than
merely regurgitate yesterday’s news.
What to Avoid
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4. It: Most editors frown on leads that begin with the word ‘it’ because
it is not precise and disorients the reader.
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Types of Lead
T
he Lead is the hardest part to write as it sets the tone and introduces
the reader to the rest of the story. A good lead paints a vivid picture
of the story with a few words. Not many reporters can produce
sharp, original leads. Writers of little talent and scant judgment load their
leads with official sources, official titles, official phrases, even official
quotes, and produce long-winding, cumbersome and dull leads (Aram,
n.k.d.). If the lead is not effective, the reader may skip the story. It should
be appropriate for the story. The lead must be accurate, short and crisp. The
lead should reflect the mood of the story. A routine lead is a short summary
of an event. But if the story is interesting, one may try out other ways,
bearing in mind the demands of the house style, of course. Following are
nine of the commonest variations (Writing for the AP, 1959).
A good lead incorporates the inverted pyramid style with the most important
facts first. It tells readers what they want to know in a creative manner. If
the reader only read the lead, she would have a solid grasp of the story
(Aram, n.k.d.). The above accident report can be written in a straight lead.
Journalists often resort to summary leads pressed for time.
Two children at play were killed today when a sports car jumped the
curb outside Rawlings Park and ran them down.
Police Chief Kojo Addison attributed the tragedy to reckless driving.
The driver, slightly injured, was . . .
2. Descriptive Lead
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It was just another school day. Efya Tawiah and Ajoa Baako were
playing ampe inside Rawlings Park five meters from the road. This
was their routine while they waited for their elder siblings to close
from Extra Classes and walk them home.
Today ended differently for the two 10-year olds; they lay cold in
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary after a careless driver
jumped the curb and mowed them down.
3. Quotation Lead
Quotes frequently are the essential documentation for a lead and should be
used immediately after a paraphrase that summarizes them. Here
paraphrasing the verbatim quotation permits the removal of unnecessary
words. But if a verbatim quotation itself is very important or interesting, it
can be the lead itself. This lead would add an element of interest such as
drama, pathos, humor, astonishment, or some other factor that will reach
out to the reader.
4. Question Lead
Many editors dislike question leads on the basis that people read newspapers
to get answers, and not to be asked questions. But if the question is
provocative, it may be used as a lead.
The `You' lead is intended to make a personal appeal to the reader involved
in a complicated situation. The second-person approach reaches out to
involve the reader and capture their attention.
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6. Contrast Lead
To vary monotony, a saga can be split into two sentences - the first of which
refers to the humble beginning and the second to the hero's latest triumph.
Four years ago, Efya Tawiah and Ajoa Baako, both 10, started
coming to Rawlings Park after school to play ampe. Today, posters
and banners will announce to their neighbors that the two 10-year
olds are ‘Gone too soon’, ‘What a shock’.
If the person concerned is not well known in the community, their name is
less important than other salient facts that identify them. e.g. "an 80-year-
old woman" instead of her name.
8. Anecdotal Lead
The anecdotal lead is used when the anecdote is bright and applicable and
not too wasteful of space. It brings the reader quickly into a news situation
that might not attract their attention if it were routinely written. Here is one
that began a series on divorce in the U.S.
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The Craigs (not their real name) are among the 13 million
Americans who, according to the Census Bureau, at one time or
another have been through a divorce. More than four million
Americans currently list their marital status as divorced. The rate of
divorces in this country has been and still is steadily increasing
(ibid).
9. Funny Lead
A journalist who writes a funny story put up the saddest face in a newsroom.
Journalistic humor requires the skilled and practice. Here is how an AP
reporter wrote when a woman broke her leg trying to climb out of a locked
London public toilet:
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T
he inverted pyramid may serve the purpose of immediately
satisfying the ever-changing information needs of an increasingly
distracted Receiver, but there are other ways of organizing news
stories. Notable among them are The hour glass, Fly on the wall, and In
their own words.
Writer Roy Clark, dubbed "America's writing coach", has identified this
structure. It is a hybrid of narrative and inverted pyramid. One begins by
telling the news, and then there is a break in the pyramid, and a line that
begins a narrative, as in, “it all began when …” You can begin to turn the
characters and plot into something more interesting. And in the end broaden
the piece back out and come back to the point at the top.
This approach involves being there with the story’s main characters when
the event in question happens. What is the conversation between them?
What are their reactions? It may take special access, which requires
planning ahead, getting permission, and even special agreements, such as
allowing subjects to see a draft of your story ahead of time, but, it may be
worth the pay off.
This is having one source tell their own story in their own words. The
journalist interviews, tapes, writes the story, and then lets the source edit
and put their own byline.
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N
ow we know what news is made of. But what would be your
response when you are asked “what makes news?” How many of
the hundreds of rumors we hear in the grapevine through gossip
become front page stories we read in newspapers? How would we
categorize those that make the cut? Even though it may not be scientific, we
can classify the main areas of life in which we may expect frequently to find
news stories. The following are some of the categories that make news:
Disaster and Tragedy: This may include air crashes, train accidents, ships
sinking, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or human tragedies like children
falling down deep wells from which they cannot be rescued.
Progress and Development: Development is always news especially in an
emerging economy such as Ghana. The report should always be of how the
changes affect people's lives, for better or for worse. New ideas or progress
in one area may stimulate ideas in another. Development stories may
include education, the development of new technology, improvement of
farming techniques, sanitation, road building and irrigation schemes.
Citizens of more affluent countries may also appreciate stories about
developments in things which affect their lives or well-being, such as
medical breakthroughs, new technologies or initiatives to make transport
easier, quicker or cheaper.
Crime: Any crime story can be news, whether it is a road traffic offence,
breaking-and-entering, corruption, forgery, rape or murder - but more
serious crimes or unusual crimes generally make bigger news stories.
Money: These stories include fortunes made and lost, school fees, taxes,
the Budget, food prices, wage rises, economic crises and compensation
claims. It is not only large sums of money which make news; the little girl
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who gives her only ten cents to a huge fund-raising event is more interesting
than the businessman who gives 1,000 cedis.
The Underdog: This is one of the great themes of literature and drama
(David and Goliath, the Hare and the Tortoise, Cinderella). One traditional
role of the journalist is to defend the rights of the little person - the soldier
against the unjust officer, the innocent man against false charges, the poor
against exploitation.
Religion: There are two types of religious news story. First, there are events
involving people's religious lives, such as the building of a new church or a
pilgrimage. Second, there are statements by religious leaders on moral and
spiritual affairs, such as homosexuality or salvation. It is important for the
journalist to be aware of the relative numerical strengths of Christianity,
Islam and other religions - including local traditional ones. The importance
of a statement by a religious leader depends both on the news value of what
they have to say and on the size of their following.
Famous People: Prominent men and women make news. What people in
the public eye do, the lives they lead, and what they look like, are all of
interest. It is especially newsworthy when they fall from power, lose their
money, or are involved in scandal.
Health: Many people are concerned with their health, so they are interested
in stories about traditional remedies, medical research, diseases, hospitals
and clinics, drugs, diet, epidemics and exercise.
Sex: All societies are interested in sex, even if they do not talk about it
openly. Many news stories about sex involve behavior which goes outside
society's generally accepted standards.
Weather: The weather may affect the daily routine of people and is of
interest when it behaves unusually, with exceptionally high or low
temperatures, or exceptionally high or low rainfall.
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Food and Drink: The rich person plans feasts, the poor person wants
enough to eat and drink. Shortages and gluts, crop diseases and harvest
sizes, prices of food in the market or the launch of a new brand of beer -
these all make news.
Sport: Many people participate in sport and many others are spectators. In
Ghana, football is a national pastime. Fans want to know sports results,
news of sportsmen and sportswomen and their achievements.
Human Interest: There are often unusual and interesting aspects of other
people's lives which are not particularly significant to society as a whole.
Stories about these are called human interest stories. Examples might be a
hole-in-heart child going abroad for surgery; a boxer recovering from head
injuries received in the ring and determined to fight again; or a man with a
collection of a 10,000 lotto tickets.
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CHAPTERFOUR
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I
n everyday conversation, we communicate without much regard to time
and space constraints. Most of our conversations start with rumors that
we gossip through the grapevine. In the process, we may ask and
answer the 5Ws and the H, but the answers we get are unfortunately based
on what little knowledge that is available at the time. Typically then, the
stories may change in scope from one receiver to the next. This is because
there is no rigor in the way everyday conversation is managed.
News is a whole different ballgame. It is a commodity that needs to be
managed from the source, through processing, in the selection of channels
of dissemination, all the way to the receiver. The adage ‘Garbage in =
Garbage out’ is particularly apt here. If the source of the information is
contaminated, the finished product is more likely than not destined to be
tarnished too. If any aspect of a report is factually inaccurate, the entire
piece loses credibility…along with the writer, the editor, and the
publisher/CEO.
A journalist therefore does not have the luxury of dealing in unchecked
facts and half-truths. She reduces the risk of ‘garbage in’ by being selective:
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i. Official/Traditional Sources,
ii. Alternative Sources, and
iii. The Enterprise Reporter’s Sources
i. Official/Traditional/Primary
Information gathered from the following sources is deemed credible and
acceptable for onward processing. News is usually about or generated by
this category of people anyway. Getting it from ‘the horse’s own mouth’ so
to say seems a logical thing for a time-constrained journalist to do. The
following are some official sources of information:
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Information gleaned from any of these sources is more likely to pass the
muster. Once it is determined that the source is authentic and credible, all
that then needs to be done is to get reactions from opposing or specialist
camps in the spirit of corroboration, objectivity, fairness and balance.
This is sometimes easier said than done; while the show must certainly
go on for a journalist, traditional sources are not always readily available
for comment. Sometimes their own senses of self-preservation and
expediency dictate that official spokespersons hedge or make themselves
‘scarce’. In many situations, the journalist may need clarification for a
breaking story, but alas there will be no one prepared to put themselves on
the line. Thankfully, there are alternative sources of information to confirm
or contradict the content of a story-in-progress.
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Social Media: It is official that most Ghanaians get their news from social
media, Facebook being clearly the preferred source. It is thought that
particularly women and young people get their news first via social media
while visiting for other purposes. This means that the easiest way to find
out what people are talking about, want to read about or watch on TV or
listen on radio is what is circulating on social media. It will do the Enterprise
Journalist a host of good to take a little time to find out what is trending
there. The platforms highlight the subjects being discussed by users around
the world and this makes the reporter’s work easier in choosing the right
stories to cover or update.
Citizen Journalists: The ubiquity of the internet has turned members of the
general public into Citizen Journalists whose lack of training and skills are
compensated for by their passion for advocacy. As bloggers, this category
of pseudo-professionals creates much excitement by scooping traditional
media houses and sometimes trolling with fiery, off-topic messages in
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online communities. The forums they derive their following from - and blog
to - may be a source of original news ideas.
Octogenarians: These are citizens who are over eighty (80) years old. They
experienced colonial tenure. They were there at independence. They
witnessed Ghana television go from black-and-white to color. They have
lived through the Aborted Generation (5 major coups d’état) and four
republics. They were there at the dawn of the technological breakthroughs
that spawned the PC, the internet, the cell phone, and social media. And yes,
their opinions do count, if only as a matter for comparing and contrasting.
Quotes from Octogenarians are almost always gems of the human interest
kind and tend to warm the hearts of receivers. In Accra, one suburb where
healthy, articulate persons 80 and above roam the streets freely is South
Odorkor Estates.
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CHAPTERFIVE
Newsgathering Techniques
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I
nformation is the raw material for crafting news. A journalist has to
select specific sources to prospect, sift through the chaff, isolate the
facts, and refine them to make NEWS.
It is like a mineral mine: miners have to dig tons of earth, separate the
ore, smelt it, refine what is left, before they are actually able to obtain a little
precious gem. A good miner needs to ensure that the area they are
prospecting is high value, the tools they are using are appropriate for the
dig, there is a refinery available nearby, before they can get some gems out
of their labor.
In intelligence gathering, the phrase GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT,
is commonly used to mean that flawed chatter will always lead to unsound
deductions. This same principle applies to gathering information for
processing into news for broadcasting. With the proliferation of data all
around us, alas, anyone can have access to news. Many are the instances
where rumor gets passed on as news. The internet is rife with examples of
rubbish going viral, and sometimes being actually carried by mainstream
media. The truth of the matter is, GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT:
flawed information leads to bad – as in non-factual - NEWS.
The Enterprise journalist does not have that luxury of collecting spurious
data in the first place. To sift through the chaff, they must be discerning in
the discipline of targeting the source, crosschecking facts, corroborating
data, before turning it into news for public consumption. This is the
foundation that Kovach and Rosenstiel call “a discipline of verification”
(2007).
3. Discrete, and
4. Able to mix socially
Needed Skill-set
The first step towards mastering the art of gathering information is to work
at cultivating the skills that make one an effective journalist. The essential
skill-set includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:
Tools
Being prepared and ready at all times, no matter the location, is what
separates the Enterprise Reporter from regular reporters. Fortunately, the
essential tools needed for information-gathering are part of most people’s
everyday social accessories:
Now that you’re ready to gather information for news you can use, it
behooves you to employ the skills you have acquired and to be circumspect.
Ask yourself:
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1. Research
2. Formal request for information: with questionnaire, via Public
Relations Officers, Freedom of Information Act, etc.
3. Observation
4. Interviews
5. The Beat: e.g. Police or Court beat
6. The ‘Date’: arranging to meet a source
7. Using an Insider: whistleblowers
8. Using colleague connections
9. Mailing list
10. The Hound: Sniffs stories discreetly.
Definite DON’Ts
You may be enthralled by the techniques and operations of the likes of the
award-winning Anas Aremeyaw Anas etc., but true journalism calls its
practitioners to stay on the straight and narrow. Anas and company may be
fine with doing intelligence work, employing tactics that are more akin to
spy dramas; true journalism however shies away from schemes that are
controversial at best, and are confined to ethical, transparent methods.
Under no circumstance should the Enterprise Reporter indulge in subterfuge
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1. Waylaying
2. Using minors
3. Entrapment
4. Wikipedia and other ‘user-content provider’ websites
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CHAPTERSIX
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I
nterviewing is a very important part of journalism. It is often a primary
source of information, whether it be for news production or in-depth
topics.
Some consider interviewing to be an art. Certainly, it is not a highly
theoretical topic but rather a skill that develops with practice and
experience. Following are fundamental techniques and tips for successful
interviews.
Choosing a topic
To perform proper interviews, one must first pick an appropriate topic and
familiarize oneself with the subject. One also needs to choose an angle to
the topic.
Once you have chosen your source(s), you will contact them to request the
interview.
Make sure the topic of the interview is clear.
You can take advantage of this contact to ask one or two questions to
help you further your research. This generally shows interest in the topic
and will be appreciated.
Examples:
Closed-ended: Do you think that this event is significant?
Open-ended: What do you think is the significance of this event?
Ask questions in relation to what you will do with the responses. That
is, if you are interviewing for the daily news, ask only as many questions
as you reasonably need to have material for editing. Asking 25 questions
and using only one may annoy your source and she may be reluctant to
agree to further interviews.
You need to give your source the feeling that you know exactly where
you are going.
Even though your questions are prepared in advance, be prepared to
improvise if the situation requires. Your questionnaire is just a guide.
Be ready to ask questions that arise from your interviewee's answers and
which are not prepared in advance.
Location
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The interview
Immediately before going to the interview, test your equipment. Better take
those extra five minutes before you are with your source! Take extra
batteries for your voice recorder just in case. If you are using your
smartphone, make sure you have ample memory, your phone is fully
charged, and switched to flight mode to prevent unnecessary interruptions
during recording.
Be on time. Being late conveys the impression that you are not all that
interested.
If you are meeting the source for the first time, take the time to introduce
yourself. Also, take the time to explain the context of the interview and
what you intend to do with it. This will help your source feel at ease.
Initially ask your source to introduce themselves. This will allow you to
adjust the sound levels on your recording device.
Don't rush your source. Some people need more time to adjust than
others. The time you spend chatting builds a link and will help ensure
that you can contact the person after the interview for clarifications.
Try to seem as present as possible and to show interest for your source's
answers. Occasional nods convey interest and attention.
Your body language conveys how you feel and can help make your
source more relaxed.
If you stumble when asking a question, it is probably better to ask from
the start again. Everybody makes mistakes.
Do not hesitate to reformulate questions that have not been answered
properly or which received an off-topic answer.
Prepare some diversion in case you need a short break to mentally re-
organize your ideas. For instance, you could tend to the recording
device.
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Give your source some freedom but make sure you guide and control
the conversation.
Do not hesitate to interrupt if you do not understand something. Chances
are your listeners will not understand either. This is especially true for
technical topics.
You can be firm but never aggressive.
Try to understand your source and make sure you never give the
impression that you want to trap them or that you are “out to get them"!
At the end of the interview, you can ask your source if you have
forgotten to ask a question or whether they have anything to add.
Depending on the topic, you can also ask them to sum up what they have
spoken about.
If you plan on pursuing the same topic on another occasion, you can ask
your source if they can recommend other people who can help you.
If you need sound effects, take them separately from the interview and
mix them back at the studio.
Field interviews
This type of interview is usually done on the spot of an event, be it at the
scene of a news event, a live performance etc. For this type of interview,
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you may not have as much time to prepare and do background research. It
will help if you jot down some questions before the interview but you will
need to improvise more.
Phone interviews
This type of interview differs in that you do not have visual contact with the
source being interviewed. You therefore need to try and compensate using
voice only. Since this type of interview can be stopped at any moment, it is
better to prioritize questions.
CHAPTERSEVEN
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A Discipline of Verification
A
nd so, you have finished your big interview with a government
official and you are on your way to writing that masterpiece for
the next news bulletin or tomorrow’s front page, or perhaps to
submit for a Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Award. This
is the point where you comb through what you have and carefully sift
through the chaff. There must be one thing on your mind: due diligence.
Due diligence is the discipline of verification. It refers to the exercise of
voluntarily but compulsively investigating any claims that may seem off,
checking new facts, and going over a checklist to ensure that you have
followed a process of sort to minimize error and opinion. The Enterprise
Reporter writes her story out and asks herself the following questions:
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Accuracy
This is the first requirement of a good news report. You must get all your
facts right, starting from the name and designation of the subject to the
statements made by them. You cannot hide behind the excuse that there was
not enough time to cross-check the facts. The facts that you need to check
are:
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Attribution
All news reports, with a few exceptions, must be sourced. The source can
be identified as follows:
Brevity
The importance of this characteristic cannot be overstressed. You must
learn to write short stories without missing important facts. Please
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remember that today’s reader is in a hurry. They do not have the patience to
go through long news reports. Brevity does not mean merely writing a short
story; it also means using short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
Clarity
This is not easy to achieve. You are required to report an event in as few
words as possible. You can do this if you use short and simple words and
keep out irrelevant facts. The Lead of your report must be short and crisp.
The body must be made up of as few paragraphs as possible with each
paragraph devoted to one point.
There should be no ambiguities. The facts must be sourced, and accurate.
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A
fter going through the discipline of verification to ensure accuracy,
fairness, balance and such, a journalist must follow another rigor
in the pursuit of her Receiver. Here again, she has to check and
ensure that her story has the determinants that her Receiver uses to consider
what is News. This is the way journalists are able to target and reach the
end-user of their hard work.
entertainment value in a story that is not pertinent to their lives, but in the
long term the receiver will seek news sources that consistently provide
relevant information.
Consequence: The fact that a car hit a utility pole isn't news, unless, as a
consequence, power is lost throughout a city for several hours. The fact that
a computer virus found its way into a computer system might not be news
until it bankrupts a business, shuts down a telephone system, or endangers
lives by destroying crucial medical data at a hospital.
Pathos: The fact that people like to hear about the misfortunes of others
can't be denied. Seeing or hearing about such things commonly elicits
feelings of pity, sorrow, sympathy, and compassion. Some call these stories
‘tear jerkers’. Examples are the child who is now all alone after his parents
were killed in a car accident, the elderly woman who just lost her life
savings to a con artist, or the blind man whose seeing-eye dog was poisoned.
Shock value and Scandals: An explosion in a factory has less shock value
if it was caused by gas leak than if it was caused by a terrorist. The story of
a six year-old boy who shot his mother with a revolver found in a bedside
drawer has more shock (and therefore news) value than if same woman died
of a heart attack.
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CHAPTEREIGHT
Cape Coast, from across the Baka at dusk. Photograph by Nile Achampong 2015.
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S deliberate rigor to rid it off all bias possible and to ensure that it has
satisfied the determinants that meet your Receiver’s needs. In what
medium do you transmit the news? Radio? Television? Print? Online? In
what form do you get the processed news to her? It could be straightforward
news; it could be in the form of a feature. It could be a review, or an opinion
piece. A journalist – other than a freelancer – may not have the option to
choose medium, but she surely can choose the form her story will eventually
take.
Features on the other hand follow no particular pattern; the most salient
points may be buried towards their tail. They do not necessarily have to
employ the inverted pyramid style. They are subjective pieces that carry the
opinions of their authors. They are not limited to current issues; and they
may run as long as the editor would permit. In some publications, features
are even serialized. Features may cover lifestyle or cultural topics, and are
often considered “softer” than news articles. Features explore news stories
in more depth. Their purpose is not just to tell you what has happened, but
to explore or analyze the reasons why.
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A
freelancer or stringer is not attached to any particular media
house. She can therefore tailor her articles to meet the styles and
needs of specific organizations. She has a choice of targeting her
article through the right channel to reach her Receiver.
A Media channel refers to the means used to transmit a message.
Examples include: radio, television, newspaper, the internet, etc.
Broadcast Media
There are two main forms of broadcast: television and radio. Also called
Electronic Media, this media allows the use of audio/visual messages,
giving the reporter more senses of the Receiver to work with than other
media.
Print Media
Print media is one of the most popular industries and the reason is that it is
one of the easiest ways to reach targeted readers. Print media includes
magazines, newspaper, periodicals, leaflets etc. They do not have the
disadvantage of transience which characterizes broadcast media.
New Media
New media offers greater interaction between the reporter and her Receiver.
The interface online is potentially immediate and includes methods such as
online messages or SMS texts, or even the rise in QR codes. The packaged
news may be sent directly to a Receiver’s portal such as the smartphone.
CHAPTERNINE
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I
f the main purpose of news is to persuade, then every journalist,
consciously or not, has a profiled consumer in mind that she labors
around the clock to influence. The profile comes under many guises:
“We are a Christian station”, a Radio Gold Exec told this author once.
Junior Graphic and Graphic Showbiz are self-touting. Most media houses
put the profiled receiver at the center of their operations and endeavor to
reach her always.
Whether you operate a fashion magazine, a GHOne-type youth
television, or an Akan radio such as Peace FM, it is essential to know who
your receiver is. Following are some of the issues to consider when deciding
who the target receiver is.
Profiling
Profiling is especially essential when scripting for radio. In radio, the
effective approach is to write as if the news was directed at one person, say,
a petty-trading semiliterate Christian single mother in Adabraka, Accra, or
a 60-something traditionalist family-head cocoa farmer in Apedwa, Eastern
Region, or an unemployed 20-something Muslim economics graduate in
Asokwa, Kumasi. Profiling and targeting are important because, obviously,
whatever the nature of the story, the journalist would have to package it
uniquely to reach any of these three persons above. This is essential because
there are numerous angles to every story and these angles are not a one-size-
fits-all as far as receivers are concerned.
In writing about a government budget for instance, a journalist needs to
know who her receiver is in order to know the right angle to choose for
treatment. To make sense to the single mother in Adabraka, she must focus
more on provisions that deal with taxation of small enterprises, social safety
nets for the vulnerable in society, and assistance for small businesses. The
cocoa farmer will benefit from news about commodity pricing, assistance
for cash crop farmers, and issues concerning pensions for the informal
sector. For our unemployed graduate in Kumasi, the words that would
resonate are jobs, further education, and career development.
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Intellectual Empathy
Intellectual empathy is when a journalist manages to embrace the mindset
of her receiver and ‘feel’ the way they live, what they consider important,
their values and their aspirations. This understanding informs the journalist
on what stories to chase, what angles to focus on, and what ways to treat
them.
Relevance
A journalist has to ascertain that the news she is dishing out is one her
receiver will find relevant to their life. In this age of information overload,
the temptation is to inundate consumers with the latest news. The danger
here is that, a terrorist bombing in London may be significant in terms of
lives and property lost and geopolitics and all, but it may not be relevant to
the semiliterate single mother in Adabraka, or the cocoa farmer in Apedwa.
The terrorist act becomes relevant only if the receivers have some
connection with some aspect of the story. For instance, if a percentage of
Adabraka residents have relatives living in London who remit money
regularly, then the news will be relevant.
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Encouraging feedback
Communication starts from Sender through a medium to a Receiver. For it
to be effective, the process has to loop back from Receiver to Sender. This
is the only way a journalist knows her job has not been fruitless. Feedback
is important not only because it ensures a regular source of news ideas to
work on; it actually solidifies the relationship between the journalist-cum-
media house on the one hand, and the receiver on the other. Phone-ins,
Letters to the Editor, all other forms of interactivity must be cultivated and
encouraged so that the semiliterate single mother in Adabraka, the cocoa
farmer in Apedwa, and the Muslim graduate in Kumasi will forever remain
your listener. That is after all the only way a journalist may preserve her
work. Cynical, I know, but true.
CHAPTERTEN
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I
n this chapter, there is an attempt to describe the rights of journalists
under international human rights codes. Listed are the areas where
journalism most frequently comes into conflict with national criminal
or civil law. There is a description of the legal provisions related to these
areas in Ghana’s legal code, and the precautions a journalist should take as
protection against prosecution or civil suits, and potential defense if such
suits are launched.
This unit does not discuss the practical processes of practicing
journalism except where they relate to law and ethics.
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If they are met, these requirements are designed to set up a broadly free
framework within which media organizations and other civil society bodies
can operate.
The circumstances in which governments can limit these rights are
outlined in Article 29 of the Universal Declaration. The Political Covenant
of the Declaration details the restrictions on these rights article by article,
as follows:
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Common pitfalls
A
ll journalists need a detailed understanding of the law and how it
affects their work - including defamation, contempt, copyright
and privacy. This chapter is not a comprehensive account of the
law - nor should it be relied on to judge the legal aspects of a story. The
Enterprise Reporter should be mindful of these common pitfalls and
always take specific advice from a legal expert.
1. Contempt
Contempt of court law applies when a journalist comments unfavorably on
the proceedings of an ongoing court case. With contempt, it is irrelevant
whether or not you actually intended to commit contempt. There are various
types of possible reporting restrictions, some of which apply automatically;
others are at the discretion of the court.
2. Copyright
This law protects the right of a producer of an original work against
unathorized use. The law protects a wide number of works such as films,
literary works, artistic works, music, sound recordings and broadcasts.
Journalists need to be aware of the copyright laws to avoid potentially costly
mistakes
3. Privacy
Where you have used covert techniques, ‘door-stepped’ a target repeatedly,
or revealed details of their personal lives, you may fall foul of privacy laws.
Privacy laws usually have two aspects: they protect a person’s right to keep
personal information (such as medical status, sexual orientation or
children’s schooling) out of the public domain and they protect the right not
to have their home or personal space and passions invaded (intrusion).
Sometimes a third aspect is covered: using someone’s image or speech
without their consent (misappropriation). An example of this last might be
taking a photograph of someone reading your newspaper and using it as a
promotional picture without getting a release signed for that use.
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CHAPTERELEVEN
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About Defamation
I
n some African states, such as South Africa, there is a single, unified
defamation law. In other states like Ghana, where the press may be
freest in the world, there are two separate laws: one covering ‘slander’
(spoken defamation, including radio broadcasts) and the other ‘libel’
(printed defamation). And in some countries there are a further set of ‘insult
laws’ that govern specifically what can be said or written about presidents,
prime ministers and other leading establishment figures.
In some countries only ‘natural persons’ (individuals) can be defamed;
in others, defamation can also apply to ‘juristic persons’ (legally-established
bodies such as political parties, organizations or companies).
In some countries, defamation is a civil offence (an offence committed
by one individual against another); in others it is defined as a criminal
offence (committed by an individual against the laws of the state). Although
damages awarded for defamation can be punitive in both cases – they have
been known to close down newspapers – defining defamation as a criminal
offence also means that the offending journalist risks criminal punishments,
which can include imprisonment or even flogging in some countries.
Remember that many statements are capable of more than one meaning,
and how readers or listeners respond may change overtime, or in different
societies. The simplest way of putting it is to ask yourself: do the words
make the person written about look bad? If so, it is defamation. But beware
of self-censorship: if the story is true and important, but potentially
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If you can meet the criteria of the courts, your first defense against a
defamation charge is usually: Justification: that the story is true and in the
public interest. This can be a powerful defense and also a deterrent to
individuals who might sue you. If they sue you, you will present in open
court evidence that they really did commit the alleged wrongdoing. More
people than read the original story may read the reports of the court case.
That is why many private individuals threaten to sue – but often do not do
so in the end. They hope the threat will deter publication – but they actually
don’t want their conduct discussed in a court case. In dictatorial states that
can manipulate the court process, however, powerful people are more likely
to carry through their threats.
That the defamation was unintentional rhetoric made up for the occasion.
Take care if your paper regularly attacks the opposition for corruption, but
defends the right of the ruling party to brush off such charges; a lawyer
could argue in court that your attacks did not, therefore, represent an ‘honest
opinion’.
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Public interest
he ‘public interest’ is a key concept in defense against legal attacks
Freedom of information
The Ghana Constitution currently contains guarantees for freedom of
information and expression in its Bill of Rights. An editor in a country
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where the Constitution does not contain these guarantees might take a
different position.
Freedom of information
National Interest
The term ‘national interest’ is often used to mean “the interest of the state”
and then further distorted into “the interest of the ruling party” or “the
interest of the current president”. But supposing the president of a particular
country was siphoning off donor money meant to help the poor? Revealing
this would certainly be in the public interest. But it could be argued that
because it attacked the president and might lead to political instability, or to
donors losing faith in giving aid, publishing it was not in the national
interest. Authorities often glide invisibly from arguing that harm might
ensue if hostile forces found out certain information (which is valid) to
arguing that the public might not fully understand the information and react
in damaging ways (which is arguable).
So, ‘official secrets’ need to be considered in the light of all these
debates. There are often clear and valid reasons for not revealing certain
official information. When police ask the media not to reveal details of a
murderer’s methods, in order to trap the real killer and avoid time-wasting
false confessions, very few journalists would argue. But there are other
times when the reasons are more suspect. A government deal to grow
genetically-modified crops may impact on the crops of other farmers
nearby. In such a case, appeals to the secrets laws or the national interest
are merely a way of stopping reporters from discovering important
information of public interest.
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A
whole new world of laws and licenses (besides the well-thumbed
areas of defamation and libel, contempt of court and privilege
and privacy) begin to emerge as you move towards webcasting.
These are many areas where journalists’ involvement in hosting, gathering,
and requesting content has opened up new areas of law – while other laws
are being used in new ways to prevent journalists pursuing a story. There
are laws such as the following:
3. Database Rights
The ugly cousin of copyright is Database Rights – the rights held by an
organisation or individual who has invested significant resources in
compiling data.
New information-gathering techniques such as scraping require an
understanding of those rights: the scraping itself isn’t a problem – but if you
are planning to publish all the data scraped then the rights-holder may have
a case against you.
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4. Data Protection
Another law that becomes relevant in the transformation from journalist to
publisher and in the context of new information gathering techniques is the
Data Protection Act 1998.
“The Act requires that you use information only for the purposes for
which it is gathered, and only for as long as it is needed…In practical
terms this means that when you gather information you should be
clear about what it is to be used for and how the user can gain access
to information held about them.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
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A
s stated elsewhere in this book, Enterprise Journalism refers to
stories generated by a reporter on her own, employing available,
ethical means in her community to collect information, process it
into relevant news, and disseminate it to a global receiver via accessible
platforms. It may not be as exciting as it is portrayed in movies, but it brings
to light pertinent issues that otherwise would remain hidden, if that is any
consolation.
Enterprise journalism thrives on the section of the general public that
society forgot such as octogenarians, the disadvantaged, mavericks, social
misfits, and the Clergy. These are the sources of alternative perspectives
that refresh the soul. This approach to journalism is based on the
understanding that there are as many stories around the journalist as there
are residents.
To be an Enterprise Reporter, one must be dependable, credible,
empathetic, discrete, and able to mix socially. One must also be skilful in
listening and attentiveness, retention, maintaining contacts, managing time
under pressure, and cross-checking facts.
All the Enterprise Reporter needs to do her work is a smartphone, a
pocket writing pad, and a pencil.
She shies away from schemes that are controversial at best, and is
confined to ethical, transparent methods. Under no circumstance does the
Enterprise Reporter indulge in subterfuge and underhanded means to gather
information for the purpose of making news.
Enterprise is the essence of the future of the profession of journalism.
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IN CONCLUSION
T
he digital revolution remains both exciting and full of trepidation
for people in the industry. All the available evidence suggests that
journalists are embracing new ways of working with enthusiasm
and skill. They have to – digital technologies are changing the ways things
are done, an example being significant job losses in what was formerly
known as mainstream media.
Journalists are becoming more comfortable with the new tools and
technology being introduced in newsrooms and are quite excited at the
prospects offered by the development of new platforms, including social
media channels.
The overwhelming message is that most journalists are increasingly
aware of the possibilities presented by online and multimedia journalism.
They are concerned at what they perceive as a lack of training which may
not allow them to take full advantage of those possibilities.
The pessimism comes in because of the technology … no-one really
knows how far it’s going to go. Increasingly the internet appears to be an
opportunity rather than a competition and while folding bits of paper …
might disappear within the foreseeable future, we’ll still be doing
journalism, and we may even be doing more and better journalism and
finding new and different ways of doing it.
With the dawn of a new era of technology and hyper-connectivity, both
national and international journalism will soon reach a crisis point. The
printing press is in danger of extinction, while the internet keeps on growing
and growing. How can journalists now find their own voice and keep the
profession alive and well amongst the shouting of millions of people?
Khaled Hosseini, the Afghan-American author of The Kite Runner, once
wrote that “If culture is a house, language is the key”. News is propelled by
people, all of whom belong to one culture or another. But how are we to
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With the internet dominating our lives, there are more and more voices
all shouting to be heard. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing – if the press
can be called one thing, it’s no longer elitist. Everyone has their own voice,
whether on Twitter, Wordpress, Tumblr or Reddit – all these social networks
are highly influential in their own right, and the internet has an answer for
everything you ask. So how can quality journalists compete? By sticking to
the facts, by not sensationalizing needlessly, and exhibiting rigor in their
personal style (which is often sadly lacking in many internet posts).
If used in the right way, journalists can use technology to produce better
quality articles, much faster. Simple facts can be checked instantly,
although care must be taken with emerging stories not to needlessly muddle
or create errors. In short, integrity seems to be the key message here,
although this is admittedly much harder to do in a world where gratification
is instantaneous, where you only have to press a few buttons to find the
answer you want.
However, one of the greatest strengths of the internet is its adaptability.
Stories no longer have to consist of plain text, with one or two images.
Journalists can use all sorts of media to create a lively story, which will in
turn engage readers quicker and easier than a page of cramped text.
Although the story itself will still be the backbone of journalism, there will
be a greatly increased scope for creativity.
Despite these promising new creative advances, the national press in
particular has suffered an enormous amount of scandal in the years
preceding the fourth republic. A certain note of cynicism and distrust is
visible when people mention their national press. Perhaps the future of
journalism constitutes transparency, linked with a sense of integrity –
people should be able to trust their national media, without feeling like
things are being kept or censored from them. In Ghana we are, in general,
remarkably lucky where freedom of the press is not just a political slogan
but an often-exercised right, and where actual censorship is thankfully rare.
Transparency, creativity and inclusivity encapsulate the future of
journalism. As we grow ever more conscious that we live in a regional
(ECOWAS), continental (AU) and global (PanAfricanist) union, there is a
greater drive towards co-operation, cultural awareness and tolerance that
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Self-assessment Exercises
Most of the following exercises are not followed by closed answers. This is
because there are few right/wrong answers to ethical questions: the aim of
the questions is to engage students with the issues, and help them develop a
framework for dealing with such concerns in their own reporting
experience.
1. CHAPTER ONE
2. CHAPTER TWO
3. CHAPTER THREE
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L. What are the 5 Ws and the H? Why are they important in news
writing?
M. What is a Lead?
N. Mention three (3) types of Lead and illustrate them with examples.
O. Mention five (5) areas where news may come from and
illustrate with examples.
4. CHAPTER FOUR
P. Name the three (3) main sources of news and give three
examples from each.
5. CHAPTER SIX
6. CHAPTER SEVEN
7. CHAPTER EIGHT
8. CHAPTER NINE
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9. CHAPTER TEN
How would you respond? Take five minutes to think about this.
Now the Office of the Presidency says Nana Akua’s paper will be taken
to court under the country’s insult laws, which forbid the media from
‘publishing material damaging to the dignity of the President, his family
or household.’
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Body: The middle part in a news story structure that supports the Lead.
Balance: Giving fair treatment to all (not just two) sides of a story and all
role players, and giving appropriate weight to the various aspects of the
story
Civil law: Law dealing with offences and grievances between persons.
Constitution: National code defining the principles of a state and the rights
and responsibilities of its citizens and institutions.
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Criminal law: Law dealing with offences and grievances against the state.
Copy editor: Script editor whose job is to ensure that all stories are error
free, ethical, not defamatory, and fit the house style.
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House style: A set of rules and regulations instituted by each media house
for the purpose of establishing a unique identity, and as an expression
of the business’ philosophy.
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Lead: The first paragraph of a news story; it explains the main idea in a few
words.
News value: The substance in the news that benefits the receiver.
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References
Jima, K. B., Abrahams, P. O., Mensah, J. J., Abbey, A. D., and Sowah, N.P.
(2017). ‘English vs. Akan language usage and professionalism in radio
broadcasting: a comparative study of Joy FM and Adom FM’. African
University College of Communication Project work.
Savali, K. W. (2015). Throw Away the Script: How Media Bias Is Killing Black
America, The Root, May 2.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2015). Definitions of Journalism. Retrieved
May 24, 2017 from http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/page/definitions-
journalism.
Harcup, T and O'Neill, D. (2010). What Is News? Galtung and Ruge revisited. Pages:
261-280
Weaver, D., Randal, B., Brownlee, B., Voakes, P., and Wilhoit, C. (2007). The American
Journalist in the 21st Century. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
The Associated Press (1959). Writing for the AP: The Second AP Writing
Handbook. The Associated Press, New York, p. 4
Wyde, R. S. (2015). What is the future of journalism? The Guardian. Retrieved April 15,
2017 from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/apr/15/what-is-the-future-
of-journalism
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POETRY
- The Equilibrists
- .F.l.o.a.t.i.n.g.
- Salt in Her Womb
- …and Soft [Selected Love Works]
- I Dream a Song
- My Kikuyu Princess
FICTION
- One Stone, One Bride and a Zombie
- i, immigrant
PLAY
- Sun of God
NONFICTION
- Adinkra Ikoncepts: Concept Icons of the Asante Akan of West Africa
CHRISTIAN
- Empowernomics: Understanding the System of God’s Purpose for
Mankind
- Good Fruit: The Evidence of True Discipleship (with Rev. Gene C.
Bradford)
ANTHOLOGY
-Building Bridges: Bridging the Gaps among African Siblings (with
Shantelle George, Adjua Dubb, Nathan Richards and Augustine J. Jeffrey)
FOR CHILDREN
- It Pays to be Kind
ESSAY
- Eunuchs at a Harem
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