Whatever the form of communication used, men have always found a means to verbally or visually exchange information and to leave messages for others: prehistoric frescos, hieroglyphics, homing pigeons, storytellers, rumours, books – just to mention a few – until the gathering and transmission of news became a fully-fledged profession. Even though many different definitions exist to define journalism, practically all of them agree on the fact that news is an open window to the outside world, a means of social coercion and of human exchange. The aim of news is to satisfy or to stir up people’s curiosity, to inform, to create controversy and debates, and to highlight all kinds of issues. It is a way of keeping passive receptors of information at least intellectually active.
But news is also most often the result of a conflict of interests, power coveted by various political, economical and social players, an opportunity to mould people’s thoughts and perceptions of the world and the prioritising of one set of information over another.
In a word, news is part of both a process and a product that try to adapt to society’s requests.
The type of news will differ according to the readership it targets. The way for a journalist to identify suitable stories for a given audience would be to put himself in the readers’ shoes and to think as a potential reader to better comprehend his expectations.
But in the absolute, shouldn’t news be delivered as events occur, leaving aside what people want or do not want to read?
I only realized a few months ago how essential a contact book could be, when I plunged into the journalistic world in practical terms. I was aware of the importance of weaving a large network in order to facilitate the exchange of information and to widen one’s sources, but I guess I did not imagine how useful and ‘vital’ contact collecting could be in the face of the growing competition and instantaneity of the press. So through the various ‘journalistic missions’ that have been assigned to us during this first term, I had to conquer my shyness and summon up my nerve, my patience and my perseverance to pick up stories.
One thing leading to another, after sending emails and ringing people up in the course of the articles I had to write, I started gathering a few contact details for example from Uxbridge’s Police and Channel Five’s press offices, members of Brunel’s Placement and Career office, the Gadget Show’s assistant producer etc.
In addition, I started to list essential local email addresses and phone numbers such as Brunel’s different offices, the Students’ Union, the Town Hall, and the Hospital.
However, I still feel uncomfortable about asking people for their contact details after speaking to them face to face; it feels as if I am invading their privacy.
Paradoxically, I realized how difficult it could sometimes be to write out an easily readable and widely accessible article about current affairs, even though all we have to do is imagine we are telling the story to one of our relatives. I have learnt that most articles were structured in a certain way to draw and keep the readers’ attention.
In a way, I was a spectator and I feel as if I have now become more of an actor, discovering the other side of the coin, the tips and tricks and the work behind it all that make the article’s relative success. For example, I got familiar with the fact that an article should ideally start by a first precise, catchy and detailed paragraph, written with short and straightforward sentences, and illustrated by relevant quotes starting from the fifth paragraph. I also had to learn to put the stylistic devices and the superfluity aside for a better impact on people, to search for different types of information, and to become familiar with the numerous sources and tools available – especially the useful and reliable websites on Internet.
I have a better understanding of what the expression “journalists are the eyes and the ears of the world” implies: I am now much more receptive to what surrounds me in terms of information or potential news. From now on, I am on the look-out for anything new or interesting which seemed to me quite trivial before, such as Facebook contacts or groups, peoples’ conversations, notes stuck up anywhere, and so on. I also tend to automatically ask myself what I could write about a particular subject or event, even imagining snappy headlines I could use.
Subconsciously though, I tend to ask myself more whether a piece of information could possibly interest readers rather than whether it should be distributed in the sake of citizens.
Other questions that come across my mind now are how this information can be verified or confirmed, and who I would contact.
What is more, I got to improve my interviewing skills by being more curious about what people have got to say, or what they have experiences.
In my learning of news writing, I met a few difficulties writing in English without translating straight from French, and I still have a bit of trouble avoiding complicated sentences or not trying to ‘embellish’ them.
But I guess that after all, the way of writing stories that will inform and interest people will come with time and practice; we were given some basic tools to do so and it is our turn to put them in good use.
With a bit of hindsight though, the nature of news may be questioned regarding the way it is written: do journalists work thinking about informing or entertaining the public? Is the form of the article progressively taking over the content? And in fact, does a piece of information have to necessarily be ‘academically’ written to become news?
These questions have different debatable answers, and have already been raised by others. But it shows how complex journalism is and how omnipresent it is in people’s life.
By Rebecca Chaouch
