Journalism can never be silent !- Task 1.

''Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air''- Henry Anatole Grunwald.

There a many skills are needed become a successful journalist. One needs to have some good knowledge of journalism. Having a high education in journalism can go a long way in making sure that one comprehend the realms of journalism and broadcast media well in advance before interfering into the field as a professional. This includes both theory as well as the realistic aspects of broadcast journalism. Communication is also vital if one wants to become a journalist. The capability of a journalist to communicate well with others really helps in connecting with the public and allows them to make their point well. The speech is extremely important when it comes to journalism roles such as anchor, reporter and voiceover artist. Written communication and the capability to pronounce well on paper is a key skill that broadcast journalists need to have or establish, since the job involves a lot of writing, research, development of scripts, content generation and editing. It is no mystery that the world is lead by digital technology today, and it is essential for today’s journalists to have a strong grip over things like social media, websites, apps, smartphones, laptops, tablets and any other broadcast mediums. Digital knowledge is vital nowadays and using means of communication for storytelling purposes is the way ahead and visual-driven content is to rule the perch in the anticipated future. Journalism is epitomizes research and attention to detail. News reports are expected to carry a certain sense of credibility, and this can only come from extensive research. There is a lot of rivals for popular or present topics in the news market.

As stated above, content that can be defined by visuals is what works well. So being able to understand and learn the craft of film making, taking pictures, shooting, editing and embellishing video content with text, graphics and audio is key to obtain an upper hand in the industry as an individual or aspiring journalist. Platforms like social media give today’s broadcast journalists an opportunity to get access to events around the world within seconds, so it is essential for one to stay on top of such trends. Reading up about the subject on the internet, finding books by famous authors, talking to conventional broadcast journalists and being employed on the overall development of every individual's personality would be good places to make a head start. These that I am going to mention are also essential in the role of journalism; attribution of information, verification and the structure of news writing and reporting.

Attribution is declaring who stated something. It is fundamental in all the media, particularly with regards to radio and television. Journalists do it so that the readers or listeners can know who is discussing or where the information in the story comes from. One can use attribution for both spoken and written information. Therefore the quality of information gathered from interviews, speeches, reports, books, films or even other newspapers, radio or television stations are made in a good way. Journalists often depict the core of their work as finding and presenting “the facts” and also “the truth about the facts.”. They also explain using certain methods a way of working, which Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel describe in The Elements of Journalism as a scientific-like approach to getting the facts and also the right facts. They also mentioned the discipline of verification, its academic foundation rests on three core concepts – transparency, humility, and originality. Transparency means show your work so readers can decide for themselves why they should believe it. Humility means keep an open mind. Originality means do your own work without copying other people's work. One social media one can find video and text reports that show or show lack of research stories, interviews, good writing or reporting and research stories. Here are two examples that I researched.

One of them is a feature article of Lovin Malta that was posted on 4th November. This feature article mainly is about the morning after pill. What I liked most about this article is the fact that the journalist wrote everything straight to the point without writing in long paragraphs. This feature include information about a map listing all of Malta’s pharmacies that stock the morning after pill, a project called #INeedMAP by Volt Malta and a studies that has been done in Malta. The most thing that attracted me the most is the headline. Sam Vassallo, who is a journalist with Lovin Malta wrote the headline like this; I Need MAP! New Chart Details All Maltese Pharmacies That Stock The Morning After Pill. As photos there were included two. One was edited by the journalist and the other was made from another user. The first picture has a yellow background, different types of morning pills were also included and there is a map of the all the pharmacies in Malta that stock the morning after pill. This image is not cropped but it is edited by an editing software.

The second one that I searched is an article that the Net posted on 10th January. This is also a feature article but includes a video. It is basically about a 20 year old named Maja Theuma that is determined to overcome her challenges by sport. She has a condition called achondroplasia but she has a really passion for swimming. The video is taken very well. The clip are quite clear. Another point that I noticed is that the voice over and sound is really clear. From what I can see, the script was well scripted and the voice was clear. Personally I would change the background music, since I don't think that it's really suitable.

Reference:

NETnews. 2021. Maja Theuma - Determinata li tegħleb l-isfidi bl-isport - NETnews. [ONLINE] Available at: https://netnews.com.mt/2021/01/10/maja-theuma-determinata-li-teghleb-l-isfidi-bl-isport/. [Accessed 10 January 2021].

Sam Vassallo. 2021. I Need MAP! New Chart Details All Maltese Pharmacies That Stock The Morning After Pill. [ONLINE] Available at: https://lovinmalta.com/news/local/i-need-map-new-chart-details-all-maltese-pharmacies-that-stock-the-morning-after-pill/. [Accessed 11 January 2021].

Ethical Journalism Network. 2021. Five Principles of Ethical Journalism - Ethical Journalism Network. [ONLINE] Available at: https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/who-we-are/5-principles-of-journalism. [Accessed 11 January 2021].

American Press Institute. (2019). The elements of journalism - American Press Institute. [online] Available at: https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/what-is-journalism/elements-journalism/. [ Accessed 11 January 2021]