Reviews for The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

The average rating for The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-02-05 00:00:00 James Pappas Banal crap. The book came recommended by William Safire, so I had high hopes. But, like most established journalists writing about journalism, the authors just wring their hands and lament that the golden age of journalism has been lost. No real analysis, and definitely no worthwhile suggestions. The authors are terrified of anything new and difficult to control from a newsroom desk, and seem utterly unaware that publications outside the United States actually exist; that news aggregators drive readers to, not away from, news sites; and that there may actually be advantages to having people familiar with a region writing from it, instead of hacks that somehow clawed their way up from the crime desk. Journalism is changing faster than it ever has in human history, and by my lights getting better. If I want, I can find out exactly what happened in Chennai last night, or the GDP of Burkina Faso, or what John McCain said in a Senate debate in 1999, practically instantly. The profession should recognize this, and change the way it's organized and presents its product. To a large extent, it has. More hard-thinking by experienced folk would help that process along, but this isn't it. Instead we get bromides: "Journalists should tell the truth," they say. Really? Thanks guys, good thing I paid $11 for you to tell me that, because here I thought it was a good idea to make shit up.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-01-25 00:00:00 Justin Florence A 'must-read' book about contemporary journalism, which has been heavily affected by the powerful companies as well as strong political groups. The book outlines basic principles for journalists to maintain the quality of their works to serve the public --and eventually make the media business running well.