WEEK 7- Chapter 7 ‘A word’s mouth’

WEEK 7- Chapter 7 ‘A word’s mouth’

1. At what educational level of readers should newspapers be aimed at? Do you think your main metropolitan newspaper is hitting the mark? Why or why not?

I think that different newspapers target the demographic they want to appeal to by using certain language. Readers are generally able to find an newspaper that suits their needs in terms of language. Therefore I do not think newspapers should be aimed at one educational level, it all depends on the newspaper. For instance I do not think the Australian uses the same language as the Newcastle Herald. I think the Herald hits its target audience in terms of language and issues covered.

2. To what extent do you think reporters should be able to interpret news events and inject their thoughts into news stories?

Nil. To be a reporter you have to maintain and strive for objective journalistic practises. A reporter should report the facts but obviously when interpreting events each reporter will interpreter the events unconsciously in different ways. We all view things in different ways, no two sets of eyes are the same.


3. English is growing and ever-changing language of new words evolve and old ones fall into disuse. What then of the idea of a global language? Does it really matter that our language is being tainted with Americanisms and US spellings?

This rings the bell of the growing concern of is it Globalisation or is it Globalization? I view the idea of a global language simply as being English and English-speaking countries will give English their own nationalistic approach. I highly doubt if you compare a British paper to an Australian paper the English terms and phrases used would be the same. Honestly, I do not think it matters if our language is being tainted by Americanisms and US spellings.

4. Based on your own experience and your reading of newspapers, do you think newspapers have a serious commitment to accuracy?

Yes of course, accuracy is very important but in regards to this I have contradicted my answer to an earlier question on reporting an untrue comment. Maybe I should review my thinking on journalistic practices. Accurate news reporting is essential; if news is not accurate it may as well be a game of Chinese whispers and PR publicity stunts.

5. What would you do if you made a serious mistake in a story you wrote but no one contacted the paper to complain?

As lazy as it sounds I could just let the mistake go and not make a correction but then obviously I be conducting poor journalistic practices. To cover my ass I would make the correction because you never know when this could come and bite you back from not making a simple correction.


Journalism Issue

A topic that the chapter outlined, that I found interesting was style and substance. ‘A journalist without style is a journalist without substance.’ In regards to my own experience with studying journalism, adapting to the stylistic expectations has been something that has not come naturally to me. Hopefully over then next year I can develop and improve my journalistic style. The chapter outlines two types of journalistic styles, style writing and house style. House style is basically a set of rules and formulas a journalist must follow in the newsroom. It seems that house style leaves little room for creative layouts. Another issue that the reading pointed out was language to avoid. These included: lengthy explanations, clichés, unnecessary adjectives and jargon. The list reinforced how simple journalism writing is.