Nieman Reports

'The Elements of Journalism'

Special Issue 2001: Introduction to ‘The Elements of Journalism’

Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

In “The Elements of Journalism,” Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel describe nine principles of journalism that speak to the essential responsibilities of journalists, the standards informing their work, and the role of a free press in a functioning democracy. Nieman Reports invited U.S. and international journalists to write short reflective essays about how these principles affect their work. Their insightful commentaries are paired with excerpts from the book to create a valuable teaching tool and classroom resource. Read more

‘The News Has Become the News’

By Michael Getler• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

Influential voices spotlight failures and remedies for today’s journalists. Read more

Principle One

Journalism’s First Obligation Is to Tell the Truth

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

“On this there is absolute unanimity and also utter confusion: Everyone agrees journalists must tell the truth. Yet people are fuddled about what “the truth” means…. This desire that information be truthful is elemental. Since news is the material that … Read more

Making Truth an Idea That Journalists Can Believe in Again

By Jack Fuller• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

‘Every journalist knows that truth can make nonnegotiable demands.’ Read more

The Pursuit of Truth Can Be Elusive in Africa

By Gwen Lister• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

Independent journalists are branded unpatriotic and anti-government. Read more

Principle Two

Journalism’s First Loyalty Is to Citizens

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

“A commitment to citizens is more than professional egoism. It is the implied covenant with the public…. The notion that those who report the news are not obstructed from digging up and telling the truth—even at the expense of the … Read more

Inviting Viewers to Enter the Newsroom

By Forrest Carr• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

With its Viewers’ Bill of Rights, KGUN9-TV in Arizona broke new ground. Read more

KGUN9 Viewers’ Bill of Rights

Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

You Have a Right to Know KGUN9 will ask the tough questions, conduct the investigations necessary, and give the timely information needed to serve the public interest and protect public safety. You Have a Right to Ethical Newsgathering … Read more

Loving and Cussing: the Family Newspaper

By Brandt Ayers• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

It’s a place where community and citizens come before big profits. Read more

Principle Three

The Essence of Journalism Is a Discipline of Verification

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

“In the end, the discipline of verification is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fiction, or art…. Journalism alone is focused first on getting what happened down right…. Perhaps because the discipline of verification is so personal and so haphazardly … Read more

Accuracy Must Be Our Journalistic Grail

By Michele McLellan• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

Editors at The Oregonian make writers pause and verify before publication. Read more

Determining the Line Between Fact and Fiction

By Olive Talley• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

In broadcast news, compelling TV and good journalism can coexist. Read more

Principle Four

Journalists Must Maintain an Independence From Those They Cover

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

“…Being impartial or neutral is not a core principle of journalism. …impartiality was never what was meant by objectivity. …the critical step in pursing truthfulness and informing citizens is not neutrality but independence…. This applies even to those who work … Read more

In Crisis, Journalists Relinquish Independence

By Ying Chan• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

‘Ideological biases can overtake the desire to be independent.’ Read more

Retaining Independence Isn’t Easy for Journalists

By Robert Blau• Journalist’s Trade• June 15, 2001

But protection of sources can cheat the public and betray the truth. Read more

Principle Five

Journalists Must Serve as an Independent Monitor of Power

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Features• June 15, 2001

“In 1964, the Pulitzer Prize, the most coveted award in newspapers, went to the Philadelphia Bulletin in a new reporting category…called Investigative Reporting. …the journalism establishment was acknowledging a kind of work increasingly done in recent years by a new … Read more

Investigative Journalism Can Still Thrive at Newspapers

By Loretta Tofani• Features• June 15, 2001

It requires fierce determination, hard work, some guerrilla tactics, and thick skin. Read more

Press Failure to Watchdog Can Have Devastating Consequences

By Murrey Marder• Features• June 15, 2001

Every news organization should monitor the powerful in the public interest. Read more

Principle Six

Journalism Must Provide a Forum for Public Criticism and Comment

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Features• June 15, 2001

“…This forum function of the press would make it possible to create a democracy even in a large, diverse country by encouraging what James Madison and others considered the basis upon which democracy would stand—compromise, compromise, compromise…. In the new … Read more

When the Public Speaks, Do Journalists Listen?

By Geneva Overholser• Features• June 15, 2001

‘I don’t recognize myself or anyone I know in your newspaper.’ Read more

Is Journalism Losing Its Place in the Boisterous Public Forum?

By Christine Chinlund• Features• June 15, 2001

An editor finds an appetite for serious conversation. Media ought to respond. Read more

Principle Seven

Journalists Must Make the Significant Interesting and Relevant

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Features• June 15, 2001

“… This classic way of posing the question of engagement—as information versus storytelling, or what people need versus what people want—is a distortion. This is not how journalism is practiced, journalists told us. Nor is it, we believe, how people … Read more

Why Has Journalism Abandoned Its Observer’s Role?

By Jon Franklin• Features• June 15, 2001

‘The mirrorer was viewed as fat to be trimmed, and was.’ Read more

Journalists Engage Readers By Learning Who They Are

By Melanie Sill• Features• June 15, 2001

Newsrooms should know more than marketers do about their audiences. Read more

Principle Eight

Journalists Should Keep the News in Proportion and Make It Comprehensive

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Features• June 15, 2001

“Journalism is our modern cartography. It creates a map for citizens to navigate society. This is its utility and its economic reason for being…. As with any map, journalism’s value depends on its completeness and proportionality. Journalists who devote far … Read more

The Absence of Memory Hurts Journalism

By Philip Meyer• Features• June 15, 2001

Short-term investors stifle investment in long-term and necessary research. Read more

A Newspaper Strives to Make Its Coverage Complete

By Mike Connor• Features• June 15, 2001

The new approach works but reporters feel constricted by its rigidity. Read more

Principle Nine

Journalists Have an Obligation to Personal Conscience

By Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel• Features• June 15, 2001

“Every journalist—from the newsroom to the boardroom—must have a personal sense of ethics and responsibility—a moral compass. What’s more, they have a responsibility to voice their personal conscience out loud and allow others around them to do so as well…. Read more

Journalists Need Help With Ethical Decisions

By Carol Marin• Features• June 15, 2001

In today’s newsrooms, there are plenty to be made. Read more

Refusing to Take the Easier Route

By Mark G. Chavunduka• Features• June 15, 2001

Journalists have an important social contract to uphold. Read more

Nieman Reports

Special Issue 2001

The Elements of Journalism

'The Elements of Journalism'

Principle One

Principle Two

Principle Three

Principle Four

Principle Five

Principle Six

Principle Seven

Principle Eight

Principle Nine

Curator's Corner

By Bob Giles

Masthead