Journalism: Encyclopedia II - Journalism - Reporting and editorializing

Journalism - Reporting and editorializing

Journalism has as its 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. (See News management.) 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. (See Media bias.)

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Reporting and editorializing", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki