Analysis of Journalism

Before a journalist creates a story, they have to keep several components in mind such as, accuracy, language, observation, attribution, verification, completeness and fairness. If these elements are not included in an article, then there are evident dark holes for readers to judge the writer’s work and future work. When breaking news occurs, writers sort through the information as quick as they can to construct a summary of the occurrence. Online news writers often write what they first hear and later correct an error; this error can be made from an inaccurate statistic, an ongoing casualty count, attempting to describe the protagonist and or antagonist, etc.. The use of very complicated language can overwhelm the reading audience and distract from the main point of purpose. Observation is a key in reporting the news, but often articles are written with information gathered from an observer of an observer who witnessed the news transpire. Legal actions can be taken if the journalist does not attribute where they’ve received their facts from. Even if the journalist has attributed their information, they may still be summoned to court if the information appears to be false, in the form of a libel. To avoid writing a libel, a writer should verify the information through different sources. The news reported must be in a complete form, some stories may have a sequel but primarily “answer the questions their readers, viewers, and listeners will ask” (Mencher, 2008, p. 48). Fairness attracts all readers as bias may act as a repellant. CNN World’s article “Aid makes it to Haiti, but not onto streets,” is my test guinea pig for this brief analysis http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2
Accuracy is noted in this article from the vast observers that CNN possesses in Haiti at this time. The statements that are presented are attributed to whom ever they receive the facts from. An example of attribution within this article is in the following statement: “Large quantities of medications, baby formula and other relief supplies are sitting on the tarmac and in warehouses at the Port-au-Prince airport, but no one is moving it out, according to CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta (Brice, Arthur. Candiotti, Susan. Dougherty, Jill. Marrapodi, Eric. Desjardins, Lisa. Labott, Elise. 01/22/2010).
This article verifies the information it claims by interviewing ten different people, from Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive to Air Force Colonel Ben McMullen. A person may find CNN to be extravagant but this exemplary news corporation is the largest in the world; there is no room for error. This story is continuing, the completeness does not appear because it is still developing. The writers of this article show compassion and concern for the victims of this horrific, natural disaster; they achieve fairness by being humanitarians. Without these components, accuracy, language, observation, attribution, verification, completeness and fairness, a story can be portrayed poorly.

REFERENCES
Brice, Arthur. Candiotti, Susan. Dougherty, Jill. Desjardins, Lisa. Labott, Elise. Marrapodi, Eric. (2010 January 22). Aid makes it to Haiti, but not onto streets. CNN World. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/22/haiti.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T2
Mencher, M. (2008). Components of the Story. News Reporting and Writing. 11. 37-49.