The Development of Journalism
Journalism comes from the word “journal” which means a diary. There are several stages that had to be passed before making a journalistic work. This includes initial planning, going into the field, writing the results of field observations, and presenting it to the general public. There are three journalistic scopes, namely straight news, features, and opinions which include editorials, columns, and marginal notes.
Journalism first appeared in 131 BC in Rome. At that time many notice boards were found. After the printing press was invented in 17th century Germany, the spread of journalistic works became more massive. Until now, the time when the internet is rampant, journalism increasingly existed and could reach the entire world.
If you look at the context of media among students at this time. People are now close to journalistic works. Because currently, journalistic work is not only in the form of writing. However, it can be in the form of videos, infographics, and short films. Blogging is a form of journalism, Even video blogs are considered as journalism too. For instance, if you blog about cars and speakers or both as in the case of writing or making a video to answer a question like “Which are the best car speakers?” the thing is that you are still journaling something relevant that’s worth publishing.
Writing is still important, but if we can make something more interesting why not? The important thing is that the meaning can be distributed together.
Journalism Basics
Journalists should pay attention to the journalism code of ethics. The code of ethics refers to what Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiels have formulated, namely, nine journalistic elements consisting of:
Journalism is chasing the truth, Journalists’ commitment to society and the public interest, Journalism is the discipline of carrying out verification, Independent of news sources, Must be a power monitor, Providing a forum for the community, Striving to make important things interesting and relevant, Keeping proportional and comprehensive news and, Give priority to conscience.
In addition to obeying the nine elements of journalism, journalists should unite. In this way, journalists can maintain independence by placing restrictions on media entrepreneurs.