There are no homework assignments in the course, which is important given the students’ workload. However, each lesson is an intensive work that leads to independent analysis, the need to think critically, ask the right questions, and verify your conclusions; it clearly proves the importance of a logical presentation of thoughts, accuracy and relevance of every word. Much attention is paid to the topic of reputation and responsibility of a journalist.
From our experience, we can say that all these points become important topics for reflection for the participants and significantly change their attitude to learning in general.
We recommend the course for students aged 10 to 15.
Key topics of the course
The function and importance of journalism
In the course, we look at journalism as a profession. This means a code of rules – professional and ethical. But the main thing is the responsibility of the author. That is why Youtube stars, bloggers and media personalities cannot be called journalists (even if they call themselves that).
Journalism is a key and critical factor in the communication between the state and society, as well as between different groups of society. A good journalist who knows how to work with information, thinks clearly and critically, and communicates his or her opinion in the same way can have more influence than any politician.
Fact and opinion
Facts can always be proven and verified. Always. And materials should be based on facts. But they should be supplemented with opinions. And the key question here is: whose opinions? Let’s understand the meaning of the concepts of “competence” and “professionalism”. And find out why the title “expert” is unacceptable.
Principles of journalism
Objectivity
A journalist writes about an event, not about his or her attitude to it. He writes without adjectives, because accurately and fully described circumstances and details of the incident will work much more strongly than “thickening” the story with emotional words. Your task is to tell in detail WHAT and HOW it happened. Only the audience can evaluate the event.
Relevance
There are two important facets here. On the one hand, you really have to talk about the event as soon as possible. Because it is very likely that you will arrive at the shooting location at the same time as your colleagues and your competitors will try to be the first to go on air. On the other hand, haste is a very insidious thing, it often displaces attentiveness. Therefore, it is worth remembering the following rule: in the first message, hurry to tell everything you see, but avoid estimates, assumptions, and conclusions. In the next one, you should include everything you’ve found out, compare and contrast, and possible versions. It would be a huge mistake to combine these two messages into one.
Presence
This point fundamentally distinguishes a good journalist from others. Even if the event happened last week or last year, but now there is a reason to talk about it, it is imperative (or at least highly desirable) to go to the scene. A journalist has the right to speak out only after he or she has immersed himself or herself in the circumstances of the event.
Credibility
First check, then write. This should be the order of the day. Even if you state in the article that the train arrives at 23:15, you should still call the information desk and make sure. And don’t be surprised if you find out that the timetable is outdated and this train has long been canceled. Other people’s mistakes will become yours if you don’t check everything carefully.
The second decisive factor: reliable sources. Check at least three sources. And this is a separate important topic.
Completeness of information
This is a critically important point, but one that has been deleted from today’s media practice. A journalist must collect and present as much information as possible to give the audience a complete picture of the circumstances and possible consequences. Otherwise, this is not a professional story, but at best a note, at worst a deliberate manipulation and silence.
Impartiality
Even if the topic is very important to you, you cannot color the material with your emotions. Because the audience is not asking for your attitude, it expects you to tell them about the event in detail. Therefore, control your involvement, separate personal and professional.
Or there is another option – an author’s program. But this is a topic for a separate conversation.
Balance of opinions
It is important to note that balance of opinion is not two opposing opinions, as is practiced in most of today’s media. A balance is all significant opinions on a particular issue. Because in most cases, two opposing opinions are not enough to give a complete picture of an event.
Significance and public interest
Not every event is worthy of the attention of a wide audience. News is always a message that matters to society. In particular, for its prosperous development/security/future. Light, entertaining topics – for example, in a newscast – are acceptable, but only as a way to dilute a serious conversation. Don’t pretend that a story about a grandmother knitting three million socks is important news. Although the rating of this story may be high. By the way, the extent to which ratings can distort the idea of the importance of topics is also a separate conversation.