What Exactly Is Journalism?

By Dustin Herlich
Science Editor

I’m going to answer a simple question that seems to have confused many recently. What is journalism? According to www.dictionary.com, journalism is “1. The collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles in newspapers and magazines and in radio and television broadcasts.” As President of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter on campus, and as someone who’s been working in media for the better part of four years, I will agree with that description. Journalism is reporting the facts to the best of the ability of the reporter. Journalism is NOT what you see on the O’Reilly Factor, and for that matter, not what you hear on the O’Franken Factor either. In both cases, the figureheads of these shows amount to little more then celebrities being used to sell a product, or in other words, spin.

As a commentary/feature article, this piece itself is not even journalism in the strictest sense, and this is true of much of the content of the output of most campus media organizations. The editorials featured in the Independent as well as in publications such as the Stony Brook Press are unique in that yes, physically one or two people actually take the time to write them, but the editorial itself represents the viewpoint of the majority of the editorial board. Most pieces printed in the Press have nothing to do with journalism whatsoever. Many are rants, many are opinion pieces, and many are simply spin. I will say, however, that there have been journalistic pieces in the Press in the past, and occasionally you see them still. Blackworld prints many pieces that can be considered journalism. Shelanu’s articles, I would say, are journalism of sorts as well. The Statesman isn’t exactly a shining example of journalistic integrity right now either. Some of the pieces they’ve had recently about campus news are actually quite good, and I must give the writers credit for that. Using less reprinted material from the Chronicle of Higher Education, and no more articles from University Spokesperson Pat Calabria is a big step towards actual journalism. Now that there is new leadership in the organization, I’m fairly excited at the prospect of the Statesman really serving its purpose as the campus communities’ twice weekly paper, as well as being a worthy competitor to the Independent, Press, Blackworld and other campus publications, and not an ad flyer like it has been at times.

Journalism itself is relaying the facts to the public, and often being able to break down a story for the masses to understand. That’s not to say journalists have a superior intellect; it just means that not everyone who wants to read The Science Times is a physics major. A good journalist breaks down the material so that everyone can understand it, no matter what their background or educational level is. Good journalism is investigative, and never lets up on a story. Good journalists dig deep and get to the bottom of things. Yes, there are also technical aspects that make a story good, such as interviews, quotes, and using as much verifiable factual information as possible, and where it is not verifiable, using the magic word “allegedly.”

Good journalism gets the facts out. Editorials and opinion pieces, while they may contain much valuable factual information, are not really meant to be journalistic. That’s why they are called editorials and not investigative reports or news articles. They show the opinion of one or more individuals that's a part of the editorial staff.

Before you attack an individual’s journalistic integrity, first be certain that the piece you are attacking them for is in fact meant to have been journalism. To attack someone for their opinion is one thing, but to attack a journalists’ integrity is just rude. Make sure that you understand what journalism is. If you are going to cite sources like the Society of Professional Journalists, make sure you’re citing correctly and understand that which you are citing. Make sure those citations apply to what you’re talking about. Have questions? E-mail them to me! As president of the campus chapter of SPJ, I, along with my fellow SPJ members on campus are something of “in house experts”. The great Norm Prusslin (advisor to all campus media groups) of course is the master of all things media, and will know any answer we don’t, and be able to answer anything we can better. I encourage you all to send me letters and e-mails. I’d be happy to write pieces that discuss the specifics of any question you can come up with. I only answer journalism and media questions though; the other types of questions go to Amberly Jane over at the Press.

Independent and the Press, and anyone on the respective staff of these publications can attest to that. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d say most of them at least have a high degree of respect for me. I wish I could say the same about some others in the campus administration, but some people don’t want to consider anything but what they think they already know about a person.

I’d like to take a moment to thank a few people who have made this column possible. I’d like to thank the USG accounting office for helping with the arrangements for me to go to Nashville along with members of SBU-TV and WUSB for the Associated College Press journalism conference. Unlike the fabled Vegas extravaganza, the Nashville trip actually benefited the school. Media members don’t fight amongst themselves like the supposedly welltrained and bonded together USG members do. I’d like to thank Norm Prusslin for providing the materials he does to all members of the campus media. Those books and packets are invaluable. I’d also like to thank all of the current staff and editorial boards of all of the media groups themselves. I hope that some of you have gained something from what I write, as again, the purpose of journalism is to educate.

This piece was originally printed in the Stony Brook Press.


Disclaimer:Dustin Herlich is currently the Vice-President of the campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and previously served as Executive Editor of the Stony Brook Press. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Editorial Board of the Stony Brook Independent.