This week in class we had the opportunity to have a small town journalist,Heather Bowser, speak to us on community journalism. This partnered with the journalist interview that I completed this week helped me to see where I would like to go with my journalism career; both Jeff Stahla and Heather Bowser discussed how their primary purpose as a journalist is to serve the community and that is precisely what my goal as a journalist is.
Community journalism is the focus of the small town happenings: the citizens, their activities, and random stories. This soft news is what makes people smile and the news people can find joy in. While community journalism does lean towards the entertainment side of news, it also can carry important messages and news aspects to the community. It is through community journalism that small town newspapers will stay alive.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hey, Rebecca. Actually, when I read your post, it reminded me very much of my own journalist interview. The reporter I interviewed, Robert Price, told me that the primary interest of "good journalism" was to serve the community. This wasn't exactly small town journalism, either--Price works for my hometown paper, in a city of a little over half a million people. I thought it was so interesting that in our Comms class we are so preoccupied with "truth" and asking "what journalism is" when so many people just seem to think that it's serving your community. It's certainly an easier way of thinking about it--you just write what people want to read.
Still, I feel as though I wouldn't be going into the practice of journalism if I didn't have a vested interest in truth. This is something I'm going to have to consider further.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Post a Comment