Elements of Journalism

Principle No. 7: Journalists must make the significant interesting and relevant.

Journalism is storytelling with a purpose.

The challenge: Find info people need, and make it meaningful, relevant and engaging.

“If you are the kind of person who, once you have found out something, find that you are not satisfied about knowing it until you figure out a way to tell somebody else, then you’re a journalist.”

Time and quantity vs. quality can get in the way of telling compelling stories, so fight against that. Put in any extra time possible to make any story more compelling.

Lure of infotainment: Good or bad for news organizations? Good for the citizenry?

Why infotainment fails

Withers the appetite and expectations of some for anything else.

Destroys the news organization’s authority to deliver more serious news and drives away those audiences who want it.

When you turn news into entertainment, you are playing to the strengths of other media rather than your own.
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Not writing for your sources
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A new definition of who, what, where, when, why, how

Put story in motion

• Who as Character
• What as Plot
• Where as Setting
• Why as Motive/Cause
• How as Narrative

Put story in motion

• Blends information with storytelling
• Requires more reporting
• Requires more curiosity
• Journalism as literature

Surprise in a meaningful way

Details about people make them a character, not an an artificial template.