AN INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM

INTRODUCTION
The Changing Nature of Journalism and the Enterprise
Reporter
n the beginning, so it is said, was the word. And words were woven into
sentences. And sentences were crafted to communicate ideas and events
and dreams and hopes. Out of these developed the elaborate story. In
Africa’s past, palace linguists and itinerant griots were the professional
storytellers who captured the hearts of communities with yarns that
entertained, or anecdotes that taught lessons, or chronicles that recalled
history, or fairytales that sought to investigate meaning in their life. They
also told tales of feats of love and war. And town criers proclaimed official
pronouncements from the palace.
And so, what do people mean then when they say “Journalism is
storytelling with a purpose”? For even gossip has a purpose.
Well. The principal difference between a journalist and the gossip, the
griot and the palace linguist and the town crier is that she tells the same
stories but follows a rigor that strips all her biases in the process of
providing her community of receivers with news it needs to understand its
environment. The purpose of her news is to inform, educate, entertain, or
otherwise influence and persuade the receiver to behave according to a
prescribed manner. The desired behavioral outcome could be of a civil
nature (such as a campaign to participate in national elections), or social
(for citizens to observe basic personal hygiene in the midst of a cholera
epidemic), or cultural (to ensure compliance to the Ga Mashie Aduŋ̍m̺ a, the
traditional ban on noise-making in parts of Accra) etc.
Welcome to the world of Journalism, where traditionally speaking, a
reporter’s professional challenges are as daunting as an obstacle course run.
Like the griot, or even the town crier, she as Sender of information must
live in the same world as the Receiver and even enjoy shared experiences,
but she must also provide - in a meaningful, relevant, and engaging way -
stories the community needs to live a normal life...in a timely manner. This
she must do - and be seen to be doing – without personal bias or prejudice.
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There is no researched information on the connection between the
profession of the griots (linguists, town criers) and modern journalism, but
in far away America, the fledgling profession experienced its first period of
experimentation during the Penny Press era (between the 1830s and 1850s).
Their idea of news in those days was basically stories that were focused on
sex, violence, death, dishonor, disaster, the outrageous and the bizarre. In
other words, sensationalism was the staple.
In 1851 however, the New York Times led other concerned reporters to
undertake a commitment to ‘objective and reasoned journalism’. Objectivity
meant the presentation of the relevant facts only, without any personal bias
or opinion.
Out of this campaign also emerged the inverted pyramid, a style of
reporting which came out of a need to circumvent the telegram’s limitations.
It was developed for reporters so that in the transmission of their stories via
telegram, the most important, or relevant, information came first - just in
case the operation was cut short.
Following these changes, sensationalism began to gradually give way to
the sobriety and objectivity we take for granted today. In fact, by the time
Ghana and her neighboring nations finally succeeded in wrestling the right
to self-determination from European colonialists, journalism on the
continent was already about serious content. The news productions that
endured among African consumers were those that provided them with
relevant revolutionary, political information, rather than sheer
entertainment.
During the immediate post-Independence era of the 1960s, newspapers
remained the dominant source of news for a people who were looking for
commonality in culture and destiny. Reporters’ submissions were
supplemented largely by stories generated from organizations outside the
media houses such as wire services. In Ghana, the state institutions Ghana
News Agency, GNA, and the Ministry of Information provided almost all
news from outside the urban centers.
Then came the Aborted Generation, a trying period of twenty-six years
of military misadventures into government business in Ghana (from 1966
to 1992) during which the ‘culture of silence’, and raw fear of brute force

Introduction to Journalism
3
succeeded completely in stifling free speech. Still, the streets were awash
with hundreds of private newspapers, albeit basically focused on stories and
numbers about sports and lotto.
Fortunately, with the help of a new crop of newspapers, notable among
them being the Free Press, The Christian Messenger, and The Catholic
Standard, boundaries were pushed and the ‘silence’ was eventually broken.
In that respect, resolute practitioners like Tommy Thompson, John
Kugblenu and George Naykene put their reputations on the line and, for
that, bore the full brunt of the fury of government and its interior security
machinery. International eyes were brought to bear on local dealings. And
in 1992, the fourth republic was birthed.
Change soon came in the way news was reported as a consequence of
increased economic gains, massive rural-to-urban drift, the liberalization of
the media ownership landscape, and, paradoxically, decreasing literacy
rates. By the late-1990s, radio and television had started to surpass print,
and so newspapers began to add more politics and feature sections to
compensate and maintain readership. Today, the state-ran national papers
Graphic, Mirror, Times, and Spectator are the only visible, credible models
on the newsstands. Representing the hitherto thriving private press is the
Daily Guide.
There is not much research in the area of media consumer behavior in
the country yet, but the Ghanaian public alas seems to have reverted to the
sensationalism that dominated neighboring countries while the nation
languished in the Aborted Generation period. Like the Americans during
the Penny Press era, the idea of news for many Ghanaians is basically stories
that are focused on sex, violence, death, dishonor, disaster, the outrageous
and the bizarre. Today, Ghanaians seem more likely to prefer entertainment-
centered coverage to “serious” relevant information. A study conducted by
Jima et. al, ‘English vs. Akan language usage and professionalism in radio
broadcasting: a comparative study of Joy FM and Adom FM’ at African
University College of Communications (which this author supervised),
found that radio stations that produced lower-quality news programs in
vernacular, were more likely to have higher ratings than those that produced
world-class ones with ‘serious’ news value (2017).

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Today, operating within the ubiquity of the Internet, relevant news is
relegated to terse social media updates and tweets that provide a wide but
shallow range of information on a world that is constantly changing.
Before the arrival of the World Wide Web, journalists could not do their
job without the support of editors, publishers or broadcasters. Journalists
gathered information and processed that into news with the active help of
seasoned personnel, technicians, and physical infrastructure that involved
huge costs, printing presses and broadcast gear.
Today, technology has reduced the cost of these tools and made each
professional a moving newsroom-cum-production center. One does not
necessarily need sound recordists, photojournalists, cameramen, lighting
technicians, and copy editors etc. to work on a story. On her own these days,
a reporter can write copy, take complimentary photographs, record audio,
shoot video, edit and transmit or publish – all with a smartphone or a tablet.
This has allowed citizen journalists a chance to enter the mainstream of
news dissemination with their blogs and video diaries.
As stated earlier, the occupation of journalism is storytelling with a
purpose to provide the public with relevant and timely information so that
it may be persuaded to behave or respond in a certain manner. Unlike
information provided by the griots and town criers, she must have a goal
higher and above mere storytelling. The ultimate goal is that the quality of
reporting must be high, in that, the end product must be perceived by
receivers to be objective and balanced.
This book is an introduction to the landscape of the journalism
profession. It discusses the profession’s principles, its main tenets, its
products, the products’ elements and their determinants, target consumers,
and its challenges. It introduces students to the practices and rigor of
gathering information, processing them into news the public can use,
choosing the right channel for dissemination, and, reaching and collecting
feedback from the receiver.
The content of this text book is packaged from notes prepared for ‘An
introduction to journalism course’ for L200 students at African University
College of Communications in these toddling days of Social Media,
complete with a glossary of commonly used industry terms and self-

5
assessment exercises. Students will notice that most of the exercises are not
followed by closed answers. This is because there are few right/wrong
answers to ethical questions: the aim of the questions is to engage the reader
with the issues, and help them develop a framework for dealing with such
concerns in their own reporting experience.
NOTE: Since communication starts from a Sender and ends with a
Receiver, the consumer of news (be they a newspaper or magazine reader,
a radio audience, a television viewer, or an internet user) would be referred
to in this book as ‘Receiver’ to avoid unnecessary confusion.

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CHAPTERONE
Media in Society
Lettering by Sarah Coleman

7
What Is Mass Media?
here would you go for the latest premier league scores, or the
most current happenings at Flagstaff House? Where can you
find your favorite soap opera to watch, or feel part of the
prevailing trend? If you needed to listen to your favorite music, where
would you go? Almost invariably, the answer to any of these questions will
be one, a combination of, or all of the following: newspapers, radio,
television, or the internet. These are the sources that most Ghanaians turn
to for their news and information. These sources – when combined - are
what is termed Mass Media. It is also sometimes generally referred to
simply as ‘The Media’ or more confusingly as ‘The Press’, which
incidentally is sometimes synonymous to ‘Journalism’. Whew!
Types of Mass Media
The mass media has evolved significantly over time. In Africa, before
writing reached the rest of the world, hieroglyphics on walls conveyed
information for public consumption, but as the mass media stands today,
one would have to say the newspaper is its original platform.
The first printed newspaper as a modern invention was published weekly
in Germany from 1609. Until the 1890s when Radio was invented,
newspaper reporters were the world’s primary source of information. With
the advent of radio which carried news at a faster pace (and obviated the
need for literacy for the public to participate in the civic discourse), papers
as the most pertinent source for information declined. Then came Television
in 1928 to soon replace Radio.
Today, the Internet is the most relevant form of mass media and has
become a major tool for news outlets, especially since all its predecessors –
both print and electronic - dwell therein. The general public can now access
their favorite news source online with just a click.
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The Role the Mass Media Plays in Our Lives
People have come to depend on news for various reasons: to socialize, to
make business decisions, to formulate opinions, to follow trends etc. People
rely on the media to amuse themselves, get education about their rights,
reaffirm their moral, social and religious obligations, and ultimately stay
connected within an increasingly globalized world. The public has put its
trust in it as an authority to supply all the above. This means most people’s
opinions about most things are based on what the media exposes them to.
In many homes, the television and internet are even supplementing parental
duties.
Obviously, this means the mass media’s influence on children, teenagers
and society at large cannot be underestimated. Consumers make buying
decisions based on advertisements, product placements and endorsements
that they experience on TV or radio or in print. For teenagers especially,
lifestyle, fashion and trend decisions are largely influenced by what the
mass media dictates. One endorsement by a favorite celebrity and the deal
is done. Every single moment, media consumers are exposed to content that
makes media houses millions of cedis.
Most adults depend on mass media for such less ‘essential’ needs as
weather, traffic, shopping and entertainment guidance. In Ghana today,
many women are also seeking their husbands, and men their libido, through
mass media infomercials.
The truth is that most of the decisions, beliefs and values held by the
public are based on what is experienced through the eyes and agenda of
journalists. The mass media therefore has become the all-knowing, all-
present phenomenon that the public relies on to get the current news and
facts about what is important in order to live routine lives and operate
normally in society.
Mass Media Narratives: The Albatross in the Room
“This is the press, an irresponsible press. It will make the criminal look like
he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t
careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being

9
oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” This was
Malcolm X in 1964 calling the American media out before a crowd in New
York City’s Audubon Ballroom, where he would be assassinated less than
one year later.
Kirsten West Savali writes that “Media injustice, which leads to both the
erasure and criminalization of marginalized communities, has had dire
consequences for both the psyches and lived experiences of black people in
the United States since at least the 18th century, when newspapers ran lost-
and-found ads for runaway slaves” (The Root, 2015). The mass media has
been blamed for many ills in society.
Critics even say the media has, among its core raisons d’être, the
neocolonialist strategy of deliberately targeting African peoples with a view
to destroying their values. And there are more than ample instances to
support this assertion. Others claim it numbs and desensitizes poor
consumers from the realities of life by glorifying violence and hate. This
too is evident in many cases.
Recent examples of the mass media at its worst include agenda that have
resulted in the upsurge of toxic rap music on the airwaves, the use of hair-
straightening and skin-lightening chemicals among the general African
public, the carnage in Rwanda that was spurred on by radio, antisocial
behavior especially among the youth based on devious Eurocentric
programs usually strewn on television, terrible fashion sense (such as the
comeback of the romper – thanks to social networking on the internet), and
poor life choices for those that love the sedentary life leading to obesity.
This last example is more prevalent among people in wealthier societies.
The underlining logic though is that human beings are generally
influenced by repetition, clever marketing and peer pressure, qualities the
mass media is master of.
Fortunately, its influence on society is not always negative: newspapers
can be credited for sparking the fire in most liberation struggles in Africa.
In Ghana in particular, rural radio was the medium that was used post-
independence to increase literacy where there were no formal education
systems; also, the Information Services Department of the Ministry of
Information has increased knowledge considerably in both civic obligations

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and social awareness in the hinterlands through the screening of educational
documentaries and the distribution of literature and posters. As a result,
many public health disasters have been averted, and advisories through
Public Service Announcements, PSAs, have saved countless lives.
In fact, the mass media truly has an impact on society in shaping public
opinion in different ways depending on the objective of the media owner. It
may use polls and trends to modify opinion during political campaigns; it
may use commentaries to incite patriotism; or, it may use comedy to calm
anxieties.
All said and done, most pragmatic individuals would be tempted to say
the positives and negatives of the effects of the mass media on society
cancel each other out.

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And so, what is Journalism?
very time, everywhere, everyone is communicating something. The
vast majority of these conversations, however, are pointless babble.
One cannot describe them as ‘News’, more so ‘Journalism’. Most
email traffic for instance is spam; almost all tweets are rubbish. Radio and
television fill time by carrying infomercials, other advertisements and
opinions of self-serving individuals and special interests for the most part
on air.
News, the end product of journalism, may be just a smidgen in the
milieu, but it is what keeps the wheels of the media turning.
To put it simply, Mass Communication is the procedure of conveying
messages to the general public through media like radio, newspapers,
magazines, television, internet and so on; Journalism is the compilation and
transmission of news through the mass media. In other words, journalism
feeds the mass media with information that is professionally processed for
public consumption. Without journalism, the mass media will be just a
repository of opinion and advertisements.
There is no accepted definition of Journalism but everybody ‘knows’
intuitively what it does. This is partly because of the rise of Internet
communications, in which people without experience or qualifications
present themselves as reporters or commentators. These days, anyone with
a smartphone in the remotest hamlet of Ghana can contribute to the mass
media as a citizen journalist by covering and transmitting on-the-spot or
breaking news. Their contribution is encouraged by receivers who self-limit
the information they receive and grant credibility to information that
supports their point of view (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism,
2017).
And yet Journalism is often referred to as ‘the fourth pillar of the state’,
or ‘the fourth estate’ (following the three branches of government). Its rights
are stated in most constitutions that guarantee the freedom of speech. Wolf
Schneider, the famous German journalist, defined it as a profession that
“[cuts] a path of information through the jungle of worldly affairs and
[keeps] an eye on the people in power” (ibid). According to the American
Press Institute, it is “the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and
E

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presenting news and information. It is also the product of these activities”
(2017).
Journalism as this author understands it - and has practiced it for the past
thirty years or so - is the deliberate gathering, through acceptable means,
of rumors that are then processed into relevant NEWS for the purpose of
persuading the general public through information, entertainment,
education, or advocacy.
Why Journalism?
“The purpose of journalism,” according to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel
in The Elements of Journalism, “is not defined by technology, nor by
journalists or the techniques they employ.” Rather, “the principles and
purpose of journalism are defined by something more basic: the function
news plays in the lives of people.” Kovach and Rosenstiel say the purpose
of journalism is “to provide citizens with the information they need to make
the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their
societies, and their governments” (2007).
The auto-response to the question ‘Why Journalism?’ is usually along
the lines of “To inform, to educate and to entertain.” Add to that “to provide
advocacy and voice for the vulnerable in society”, and “to act as a watchdog
to keep the tendencies of authority in check”. These are noble ideals; they
constitute the Public Good. And they present the profession and its
practitioners as being devoted to the good of the citizen.
In reality though, devotion to the public comes second; the main purpose
of journalism is two-fold:
1. To keep the publisher/CEO and her business in business, and
2. To influence the Receiver towards a particular behavior.
Is Journalism Propaganda?
Journalism may be used for propaganda, but the two are not the same. Both
seek to influence the receiver; and for both, their first obligation is to their

13
employers (and house style in the case of the journalist). That, after all, is
existential logic.
The main difference between Journalism and Propaganda is that in the
course of meeting their existential obligations, in spite of the contractual
allegiance to their employers, a journalist has to, somehow, place the public
good above all else. This is the landmine of the profession on which the
trained practitioner treads softly by following rigor - the foundation of
which Kovach and Rosenstiel call “a discipline of verification” – to gather
and assess what she finds (ibid).
Propaganda, on the other hand, places the cause (of persuasion) above
all else. Bias and prejudice are clearly exhibited. And it is only the end
(influencing the receiver) that justifies her content and tactics.
Of Skepticism and Cynicism
Journalism endeavors to be fair and accurate. It does this through the use of
objective methods and the managing of bias. Truth is, bias does exist; it is
built in the choices we make when we decide what to cover, what to focus
on, and what to leave out. Bias is embedded in the culture and language of
the society on which we report. What is referred to as news judgment is after
all only a reflection of the journalist’s background as well as the news
organization’s mission and business model. Objectivity therefore is not the
absence of bias on the part of the journalist; it is the conscious detection and
deletion of prejudice in the method of news processing. Remember, it is the
method that is objective, not the journalist. No human being is objective.
One way a journalist may ensure that her own bias is managed is by
cultivating a healthy habit of skepticism. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
online defines skepticism as “an attitude of doubt or a disposition to
incredulity either in general or toward a particular object” (retrieved May
12, 2017). A skeptical journalist must question everything, even when it is
in her personal interest not to. This is how a journalist builds credibility
among her receivers.
This is not the same as cynicism which believes that people are generally
selfish and dishonest. Skepticism allows for benefit of doubt. Any decent
journalist must always follow the notorious American president Ronald

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Reagan's well-known dictum of “trust but verify”. Douglas Frantz,
managing editor the Los Angeles Times, sums it up: “If your mother says
she loves you, check it out” (Awoyinfa and Igwe, 2014). This is how
objectivity of the process is guaranteed.
What is Enterprise Journalism?
Enterprise Journalism refers to stories generated by a reporter on her own,
as opposed both to stories assigned by the news editor or to breaking news
(such as police and fire service activity). The media professional who
employs available, ethical means in her community to collect information,
process it into relevant news, and disseminate it to a global receiver via
accessible platforms is the Enterprise Reporter. Most enterprise reporting is
unspectacular, involving focus on stories within a small subset of the
community that is brought out to more receivers.
An example:
Residents of Nima, a working-class neighborhood in Accra, complain that
an unoccupied house is being used for prostitution and hard drugs business.
Neighbors want the house torn down. The owner, who lives in affluent East
Legon, also in Accra, is an architect who says the building has historic
value and that she eventually intends to restore the house.
The neighbors blame the owner for leaving the property in disrepair,
which they say invites criminals. The owner blames the neighbors for
allowing criminal activity in their neighborhood, activity that she says
hinders her plans to restore the building.
This story does not belong at the top of a newscast, but it brings up a
variety of important issues: public safety, preserving historic buildings,
absentee owners, and disputes among differing groups about urban
planning and city priorities. It may well be the most talked about story in
the neighborhood at that time, and because the issues it raises reverberate
in society, it is worth reporting.
[NB: Chapter 1 Self-assessment Exercise on page 96]

15
CHAPTERTWO
An Overview of a News Organization
‘Dubai’, Kwame Nkrumah Interchange.

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The Structure of a News Organization
ike many businesses, news organizations function under tight,
hierarchical structures that ensure command and control. At the top
of the pyramid is the owner, the CEO. The role of the CEO in a
radio or television company is akin to the role of the publisher at a
newspaper. Her role is to view the news organization in the larger context
of the company’s overall business and to steer it in the direction that best
serves its needs. In most cases, the CEO/Publisher is the money person or
represents the money person with the agenda. She needs a professional
journalist to realize her dreams. Her prayers are answered when she finds a
seasoned, ambitious, forward-thinking journalist to assume the role of
Editor-in-Chief.
The Editor-in-Chief, EIC, runs the Newsroom which is the production
hub of the business. She is complemented by an Advertising (or/and a
Traffic) Department that sells space and/or time to businesses so the news
organization can survive and thrive. [The Traffic Department schedules
advertizing and promotions in line with the station’s business strategy with
an aim to maximizing revenue].
A Marketing/Business Development Department also works on events
to capitalize on special dates and occurrences in the future such as holidays
to advise the production of special reports and programs. Actual physical
printing or broadcasting is handled by a Technical Department that may
come under several names depending on whether the outfit is electronic or
print.
In print, a Circulations Department ensures that publications are on the
newsstands and in subscribers’ homes on time, and that returns are brought
back to Accounts Department for reckoning.
The Structure of a Newsroom
A newsroom is an office at a television or radio station or a newspaper
where gathered information is prepared into news and reports for
broadcasting or publishing. In other words, the newsroom is where the
L

17
gathered stories are re-written, put together, edited and assembled for the
news broadcast, telecast or newspaper.
The Newsroom and its Major Roles
To work with the media one needs to have some idea of how a media
newsroom works. Whilst there may be slight differences, most newsrooms
function in basically the same way. Traditional newsrooms are hierarchical
organizations. They have to be, because otherwise there’s no way to put out
Graphic every 24 hours six times a week, or a new version of the
voluminous Mirror every week. There’s not as much collaboration along
the hierarchy of staff as in other companies, and not as much emphasis on
developing consensus. In a newsroom, what the boss says goes.
At the top of the newsroom there are two people: the publisher/CEO and
the editor-in-chief. As stated earlier, the CEO runs the business side of
things. The EIC oversees everything editorial: she decides which stories
will run and which ones won’t. Sometimes she’s called ‘Managing editor’,
‘Executive editor’, or simply ‘Editor’. The title doesn’t matter; her role is
not only to edit stories that have been written but to review pitches for
stories and help writers shape their ideas. She is the voice of the news house,
and sets the tone and direction… that is, until the CEO/publisher “has a
request”.
Below the EIC is a News Editor, who is the supervisor of the newsroom.
Where no staff is designated as Assignment Editor, the News Editor
schedules day-to-day tasks and duties and represents the EIC.
Below the News Editor are section or desk editors - sports, politics,
features, news, metro, and so on – who are in charge of staff and stories
concerning their respective sections. Below the section editors are the
writers, who get ranked according to seniority: it is these reporters who feed
the operation with content. Their work is usually supplemented by
freelancers and wire services.
Off to the side are copy editors, the great unsung heroes of every
newsroom. Copy editors never get a byline, and rarely get any praise, yet
they are the last line of defense against errors (or defamatory statements)

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slipping into print. They also ensure that all copy adheres to the house style
of the media organization.
WHO is in the Newsroom?
The number of jobs and people working in the newsroom varies depending
on the size of the media outlet. In a smaller organization, the newsroom will
probably feature only a couple of journalists and a photographer, sound
recordist or camera person. In larger media outlets, such as metropolitan
newspapers, radio or television, the newsroom is much bigger, with larger
staff.
The number of jobs and people working in the newsroom will also vary
depending on whether the media house is electronic or print. These days,
many reporters receive their assignments while they are about town, and
they file their news from the location of the story. In any case, professional
roles in any newsroom (either electronic or print) may include:
 Journalists/reporters.
 Photographers.
 Camera operators.
 Sound and lighting technicians (for electronic).
 Producers
 Editing room staff (who are in charge of cutting and compiling
stories for television and radio).
 Specialist desks e.g. Sports, Foreign
 Copy or sub-editors (who edit newspaper journalists' stories and
check them for any legal, factual or other problems before
publication).
 Receptionists and News Desk coordinators.
 Archive or Library staff (sometimes)
 Graphic designers
 Editors either in charge of sections of the media's coverage, or of
its overall coverage.

19
The Flow of Information in a Newsroom
ach newsroom has differences; they can be slight or they can be
significant. There are differences between newsrooms of similar
media outlets (for example, different radio stations); there are larger
differences between, say, television and newspaper newsrooms. Only by
working with an individual media outlet and developing a solid relationship
over time can one gain a little more insight into how it works.
How the Newsroom Works:
1. Stories come into the newsroom. This can occur in a number of ways,
some of which are:
 Through tip-offs from contacts, or press releases
 Through coverage of newsworthy events, activities and
occasions.
 From story leads followed-up by journalists.
 From issues or stories the editors, producers or chiefs-of-staff
themselves want covered.
 From calls by journalists chasing up new angles on current
stories.
2. As this pool of stories develops, journalists are either assigned stories
by editors or, in some smaller media organizations, cover the stories
themselves.
 This is done either by attending the event or through phone or
face-to-face interviews or the use of press releases.
 At times, they may use archival material, such as old
photographs, footage or sound, which is stored in hard copy
or on computer.
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3. At this time photographers, camera operators, sound and lighting
technicians come into play.
 In larger print media organizations, the visuals for stories can
be organized through the photographic editor.
 Often TV camera crews are assigned jobs through the editor
(or chief-of-staff) after they have looked at the pool of stories.
 In smaller organizations, journalists and photographers often
liaise directly to organize photo opportunities and book
photos.
 Sometimes photographers and camera operators get sent out
to do their job on site, while journalists stay in the office to
follow up the story or conduct interviews on the phone.
 Any graphics needed to accompany a story is organized and
the work allocated to graphic designers.
4. Once photographers or camera operators return with their visuals
the newsroom can become a frantic place, as items are put together
and the stories are completed before deadline.
 With electronic media, raw visual footage or audio ends up in
the editing suite where it is reviewed and the most relevant or
newsworthy grabs are used to put together the story. Any
overdubbing or re-recording also occurs at this stage.
 For print media, photographs are loaded into a computer and
saved.
 At this stage any other graphic information needed is
completed or almost completed and ready for use.
 Meanwhile, the journalist spends time finishing their story
before it is saved and sent to sub-editors.
 At this time, particularly in larger newsrooms, editors,
producers and chiefs-of-staff often meet again to review the
story list and see if there are any new stories to include (or

21
others to discard) and re-order them in priority for
presentation in the newspaper or bulletin.
5. When stories or news items are completed, they are usually checked
to ensure they are factually correct, make sense and adhere to any
legal requirements.
 Copy or sub-editors (copy subs or check subs) will go through
stories, particularly in newspapers, and often make changes to
improve readability and ensure they are not libelous. Stories
receive headlines and headings, and photo captions are
checked.
 Lay-out sub-editors then draw the story, photograph and
graphic elements together and lay them out through a
computer on the page.
 In visual or broadcast media, production staff are responsible
for ensuring tapes for completed stories are ready to be played
in the right order as the bulletin progresses.
 Competition for space or air-time can be fierce, with stories
often missing the cut, or being cut-down, due to space or time
restrictions.
6. Even at this late stage things can change if a big news story occurs.
 Some stories might be cut back or even left out of the
newspaper or news bulletin to accommodate any "late
breaking news".
 Those stories may then appear in a truncated form, or could
be cut completely and never appear at all.
As stated earlier, each newsroom works differently, but these are the
general steps journalists take to bring news to the public.

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CHAPTERTHREE
The Anatomy of a News Story

23
What is News?
here is no one definition that encapsulates the complex phenomenon
that is NEWS. News may be perceived differently depending on the
society one lives in, or one’s level of sophistication. Its definition
may be influenced by culture, politics, literacy level and even sense of
humor. Ultimately though, everything depends on what is considered news
value.
The notion of news value should be seen less as a reflection of what type
of information citizens want or need, and more as a reflection of
organizational, sociological and cultural norms combined with economic
factors (Weaver et al., 2007).
No matter what hemisphere one lives in however, news stories must
generally satisfy one or more of the following requirements to make the cut:
1. Authority: Stories must concern powerful individuals, organizations
or institutions. Anything to do with government, traditional rulers,
decision makers and policy makers is news.
2. Personalities and Celebrities: Stories must concern people who are
already famous. A personality is a person who is renowned for a
particular achievement; a celebrity is famous just because.
Sometimes, the two overlap.
3. Entertainment: Stories must concern sex, show business, human
interest, animals, an unfolding drama, or offering opportunities for
humorous treatment, entertaining photographs or witty headlines.
4. Surprise: Stories must have an element of surprise and/or contrast.
5. Bad news: Stories must have particularly negative overtones, such
as conflict or tragedy.
6. Good news: Stories must have particularly positive overtones, such
as rescues and cures.
T

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7. Magnitude: Stories must be perceived as sufficiently significant
either in the numbers of people involved or in their potential impact.
8. Relevance: Stories must be about issues, groups and nations
perceived to be relevant to the Receiver.
9. Follow-up: Stories must be about subjects already in the news.
10. Newspaper agenda: Stories must set or fit the news organization’s
own agenda (Harcup and O'Neill, 2001). This was offered, not as
the last word on news values, but merely as a contribution towards
“rendering news selection a more transparent and better-understood
process” (ibid).
In short then, News is something or some matter that is new, fresh,
unusual, unique, strange and exclusive, reported in an accurate manner
that will interest a large number of people. Some say news is an acronym
for ‘New Events, Weather and Sports’.
The 5 Ws, the H, and What Next
Let’s say a crowd has gathered around a wrecked automobile at a street
corner outside Rawlings Park. A passerby stops and taps a bystander on the
arm.
“Hey, Massa. What happened?”
“Two kids got killed. Car jumped the curb,” he responds.
The bystander here has done the job of a reporter in summarizing a news
event. A traditional reporter would write the same story like this:
“Two children at play were killed today when a sports car jumped
the curb outside Rawlings Park and ran them down.

25
“Police Chief Kojo Addison attributed the tragedy to
reckless driving. The driver, slightly injured, was . . .”
What the reporter has attempted to do is answer in the lead all the likely
questions that any receiver may have. This she managed by answering the
5 Ws and the H. They are Who, What, Why, When, Where and How. Why
are the 5 Ws and 1 H important? Journalism purists will argue a story is not
complete until it answers all six questions. It is hard to argue this point,
since missing any of these questions is likely to leave a hole in a story. Now
let’s look at what information was gathered with the 5 Ws and the H in the
scenario above.
 Who was involved? Two children.
 What happened? They were killed when a sports car ran them
down.
 Where did it take place? Outside Rawlings Park.
 When did it take place? Today.
 Why did it happen? Police Chief Kofi Addison attributed the
tragedy to reckless driving.
 How did it happen? The two children were at play outside when
the sports car jumped the curb and ran them down.
This is an example of how getting answers to these six questions can
help to get the information needed to write an accurate news report. Lately,
journalism enthusiasts have added “What Next?” to the six in order to
provide millennials with reasoned implications and likely repercussions. In
the case of the above scenario, the ‘What Next’ question could be answered
this way:

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26
 What Next? Police investigations continue.

27
The Structure of a News story
ournalists usually describe the organization or structure of a straight-
forward news story as an “inverted pyramid”. The essential and most
interesting elements of the story are put at the beginning. In other
words, the 5 Ws and the H are answered at the beginning, in the first
paragraph, which is called (i) the Lead. Supporting information follows in
(ii) the body of the story. Other related information occupies (iii) the tail.
The story therefore progresses in order of diminishing importance [See
diagram on page22].
The Lead
The first paragraph, the introduction, is called the Lead which is the
foundation of every news story, no matter the medium. With so many
sources of information – newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and the Internet
– receivers simply are not willing to read beyond the first paragraph (and
sometimes even the first sentence) of a story unless it grabs their interest. A
good lead does just that: it gives readers the most important information in
a clear, concise and interesting manner. It also establishes the voice and
direction of an article.
Tips for Writing a Lead
1. The 5 W’s and H: Before writing a lead, decide which aspect of the
story – who, what, when, where, why, how – is most important. You
should emphasize those aspects in your lead. Wait to explain less
important aspects until the second or third sentence (Hohenberg,
1978).
[Continue on Page 29]
J

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Reckless Driver Kills 2 Kids Headline
By Yaa Asante Byline
Two children at play were killed today when a sports
car jumped the curb outside Rawlings Park and ran
them down. Police Chief Kojo Addison attributed the
tragedy to reckless driving. The driver, slightly injured,
was rushed to nearby Children’s Hospital. Also injured
in the accident were two street hawkers and a
pedestrian shopper.
Lead
Tudu Police Chief Addison said Efya Tawiah and
Ajoa Baako, both 10, were playing ampe inside
Rawlings Park five meters from the road when the
accident happened.
According to eye witness plantain seller Yaa
Anima, the children were at their usual game of ampe
around 2.30pm when a speeding Mercedes 4Matic
coupe careened off the road in an attempt to avoid
running into a traffic warden. The vehicle jumped the
curb and run the clueless girls down before anyone
could react.
“By the time the ambulance and the police got here,
the paramedics pronounced them both dead,” she said.
Body
Danger in the Park Heading
Chief Addison said the driver, a 21-year old man, was
visibly shaken when the ambulance took him to the hospital
along with other injured persons for evaluation.
This is the first time that a death has been reported at
Rawlings Park, but it is the third time this year that vehicles
have jumped curbs and wandered onto the play grounds.
“We shall await results from tests before any
pronouncements can be made”, the police chief said. “In the
meantime though, this side of the Park will be sealed off,”
he added.
“I don’t see why they should close the Park down. Like many
other children, they play here every afternoon after school until
their elder siblings close from Extra Classes and walk them home,”
explained Yaa Anima, who also doubles as unofficial child
minder.
Meanwhile, investigations continue, according to Chief
Addison.
Tail
The structure of a News article

29
[Continued from Page 27]
2. Conflict: Good stories have conflict. So do many good leads.
3. Specificity: Though you are essentially summarizing information in
most leads, try to be as specific as possible. If your lead is too broad,
it won’t be informative or interesting.
4. Brevity: Readers want to know why the story matters to them and
they won’t wait long for the answer. Leads are often one sentence,
sometimes two. Generally, they are 25 to 30 words and should rarely
be more than 40. This is somewhat arbitrary, but it’s important –
especially for young journalists – to learn how to deliver information
concisely.
5. Active sentences: Strong verbs will make your lead lively and
interesting. Passive constructions, on the other hand, can sound dull
and leave out important information, such as the person or thing that
caused the action. Incomplete reporting is often a source of passive
leads.
6. Receiver and context: Take into account what your reader already
knows. Remember that in today’s media culture, most readers
become aware of breaking news as it happens. If you’re writing for
a print publication the next day, your lead should do more than
merely regurgitate yesterday’s news.
What to Avoid
1. Flowery language: Many beginning writers make the mistake of
overusing adverbs and adjectives in their leads. Concentrate instead
on using strong verbs and nouns.

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30
2. Redundant words/phrases: Watch out for unintentional
redundancy. For example, ‘2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon’, or ‘very
unique’. You can’t afford to waste space in a news story, especially
in the lead. Avoid clutter and cut right to the heart of the story.
3. Formulaic leads: Because a lot of news writing is done on deadline,
the temptation to write tired leads is strong. Resist it. Readers want
information, but they also want originality. Your lead must sound
genuine, not merely mechanical.
4. It: Most editors frown on leads that begin with the word ‘it’ because
it is not precise and disorients the reader.

31
Types of Lead
he Lead is the hardest part to write as it sets the tone and introduces
the reader to the rest of the story. A good lead paints a vivid picture
of the story with a few words. Not many reporters can produce
sharp, original leads. Writers of little talent and scant judgment load their
leads with official sources, official titles, official phrases, even official
quotes, and produce long-winding, cumbersome and dull leads (Aram,
n.k.d.). If the lead is not effective, the reader may skip the story. It should
be appropriate for the story. The lead must be accurate, short and crisp. The
lead should reflect the mood of the story. A routine lead is a short summary
of an event. But if the story is interesting, one may try out other ways,
bearing in mind the demands of the house style, of course. Following are
nine of the commonest variations (Writing for the AP, 1959).
1. Straight Lead (or Summary Lead)
A good lead incorporates the inverted pyramid style with the most important
facts first. It tells readers what they want to know in a creative manner. If
the reader only read the lead, she would have a solid grasp of the story
(Aram, n.k.d.). The above accident report can be written in a straight lead.
Journalists often resort to summary leads pressed for time.
Two children at play were killed today when a sports car jumped the
curb outside Rawlings Park and ran them down.
Police Chief Kojo Addison attributed the tragedy to reckless driving.
The driver, slightly injured, was . . .
2. Descriptive Lead
A descriptive lead describes how an event happened rather than simply
telling what the event is about.
T

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It was just another school day. Efya Tawiah and Ajoa Baako were
playing ampe inside Rawlings Park five meters from the road. This
was their routine while they waited for their elder siblings to close
from Extra Classes and walk them home.
Today ended differently for the two 10-year olds; they lay cold in
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary after a careless driver
jumped the curb and mowed them down.
Eyewitness accounts can provide the background for writing lucid
descriptions which help the reader to visualize a news situation.
3. Quotation Lead
Quotes frequently are the essential documentation for a lead and should be
used immediately after a paraphrase that summarizes them. Here
paraphrasing the verbatim quotation permits the removal of unnecessary
words. But if a verbatim quotation itself is very important or interesting, it
can be the lead itself. This lead would add an element of interest such as
drama, pathos, humor, astonishment, or some other factor that will reach
out to the reader.
4. Question Lead
Many editors dislike question leads on the basis that people read newspapers
to get answers, and not to be asked questions. But if the question is
provocative, it may be used as a lead.
5. Direct Address Lead
The `You' lead is intended to make a personal appeal to the reader involved
in a complicated situation. The second-person approach reaches out to
involve the reader and capture their attention.

33
6. Contrast Lead
To vary monotony, a saga can be split into two sentences - the first of which
refers to the humble beginning and the second to the hero's latest triumph.
Four years ago, Efya Tawiah and Ajoa Baako, both 10, started
coming to Rawlings Park after school to play ampe. Today, posters
and banners will announce to their neighbors that the two 10-year
olds are ‘Gone too soon’, ‘What a shock’.
7. Blind Identification Lead
If the person concerned is not well known in the community, their name is
less important than other salient facts that identify them. e.g. "an 80-year-
old woman" instead of her name.
Two schoolchildren were mowed down to death by a reckless driver
while they played ampe inside Rawlings Park.
The bodies of the victims Efya Tawiah and Ajoa Baako, both 10,
have been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary.
8. Anecdotal Lead
The anecdotal lead is used when the anecdote is bright and applicable and
not too wasteful of space. It brings the reader quickly into a news situation
that might not attract their attention if it were routinely written. Here is one
that began a series on divorce in the U.S.
David and Kay Craig's two-year-old marriage is a second one for
both and their story is one that is being repeated with increasing
frequency across the country.
Each was married for the first time at 18. David's marriage lasted
through five years and two children. Kay's first marriage ended in
divorce after a year and eight months.

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The Craigs (not their real name) are among the 13 million
Americans who, according to the Census Bureau, at one time or
another have been through a divorce. More than four million
Americans currently list their marital status as divorced. The rate of
divorces in this country has been and still is steadily increasing
(ibid).
9. Funny Lead
A journalist who writes a funny story put up the saddest face in a newsroom.
Journalistic humor requires the skilled and practice. Here is how an AP
reporter wrote when a woman broke her leg trying to climb out of a locked
London public toilet:
LONDON -- What's a lady do when trapped in a loo? (ibid).

35
Other Ways of Organizing a News story
he inverted pyramid may serve the purpose of immediately
satisfying the ever-changing information needs of an increasingly
distracted Receiver, but there are other ways of organizing news
stories. Notable among them are The hour glass, Fly on the wall, and In
their own words.
1. The Hour Glass
Writer Roy Clark, dubbed "America's writing coach", has identified this
structure. It is a hybrid of narrative and inverted pyramid. One begins by
telling the news, and then there is a break in the pyramid, and a line that
begins a narrative, as in, “it all began when …” You can begin to turn the
characters and plot into something more interesting. And in the end broaden
the piece back out and come back to the point at the top.
2. Fly on the Wall
This approach involves being there with the story’s main characters when
the event in question happens. What is the conversation between them?
What are their reactions? It may take special access, which requires
planning ahead, getting permission, and even special agreements, such as
allowing subjects to see a draft of your story ahead of time, but, it may be
worth the pay off.
3. In Their Own Words
This is having one source tell their own story in their own words. The
journalist interviews, tapes, writes the story, and then lets the source edit
and put their own byline.
T

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Where Does News Come From…Again?
ow we know what news is made of. But what would be your
response when you are asked “what makes news?” How many of
the hundreds of rumors we hear in the grapevine through gossip
become front page stories we read in newspapers? How would we
categorize those that make the cut? Even though it may not be scientific, we
can classify the main areas of life in which we may expect frequently to find
news stories. The following are some of the categories that make news:
Conflicts: This includes wars, strikes, revolutions, secessionist groups,
tribal and clan fights, elections and the power battles of politics.
Disaster and Tragedy: This may include air crashes, train accidents, ships
sinking, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or human tragedies like children
falling down deep wells from which they cannot be rescued.
Progress and Development: Development is always news especially in an
emerging economy such as Ghana. The report should always be of how the
changes affect people's lives, for better or for worse. New ideas or progress
in one area may stimulate ideas in another. Development stories may
include education, the development of new technology, improvement of
farming techniques, sanitation, road building and irrigation schemes.
Citizens of more affluent countries may also appreciate stories about
developments in things which affect their lives or well-being, such as
medical breakthroughs, new technologies or initiatives to make transport
easier, quicker or cheaper.
Crime: Any crime story can be news, whether it is a road traffic offence,
breaking-and-entering, corruption, forgery, rape or murder - but more
serious crimes or unusual crimes generally make bigger news stories.
Money: These stories include fortunes made and lost, school fees, taxes,
the Budget, food prices, wage rises, economic crises and compensation
claims. It is not only large sums of money which make news; the little girl
N

37
who gives her only ten cents to a huge fund-raising event is more interesting
than the businessman who gives 1,000 cedis.
The Underdog: This is one of the great themes of literature and drama
(David and Goliath, the Hare and the Tortoise, Cinderella). One traditional
role of the journalist is to defend the rights of the little person - the soldier
against the unjust officer, the innocent man against false charges, the poor
against exploitation.
Religion: There are two types of religious news story. First, there are events
involving people's religious lives, such as the building of a new church or a
pilgrimage. Second, there are statements by religious leaders on moral and
spiritual affairs, such as homosexuality or salvation. It is important for the
journalist to be aware of the relative numerical strengths of Christianity,
Islam and other religions - including local traditional ones. The importance
of a statement by a religious leader depends both on the news value of what
they have to say and on the size of their following.
Famous People: Prominent men and women make news. What people in
the public eye do, the lives they lead, and what they look like, are all of
interest. It is especially newsworthy when they fall from power, lose their
money, or are involved in scandal.
Health: Many people are concerned with their health, so they are interested
in stories about traditional remedies, medical research, diseases, hospitals
and clinics, drugs, diet, epidemics and exercise.
Sex: All societies are interested in sex, even if they do not talk about it
openly. Many news stories about sex involve behavior which goes outside
society's generally accepted standards.
Weather: The weather may affect the daily routine of people and is of
interest when it behaves unusually, with exceptionally high or low
temperatures, or exceptionally high or low rainfall.

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Food and Drink: The rich person plans feasts, the poor person wants
enough to eat and drink. Shortages and gluts, crop diseases and harvest
sizes, prices of food in the market or the launch of a new brand of beer -
these all make news.
Entertainment: Stories about music, dance, theatre, cinema and carving
keep us informed of developments in the arts; who is doing what, who is
performing where, and what is worth going to see or hear makes news.
Sport: Many people participate in sport and many others are spectators. In
Ghana, football is a national pastime. Fans want to know sports results,
news of sportsmen and sportswomen and their achievements.
Human Interest: There are often unusual and interesting aspects of other
people's lives which are not particularly significant to society as a whole.
Stories about these are called human interest stories. Examples might be a
hole-in-heart child going abroad for surgery; a boxer recovering from head
injuries received in the ring and determined to fight again; or a man with a
collection of a 10,000 lotto tickets.

39
CHAPTERFOUR
From Rumor to Front Page
A social media meme. Creator, Photographer unknown.

Nana S. Achampong
40
Managing the News
n everyday conversation, we communicate without much regard to time
and space constraints. Most of our conversations start with rumors that
we gossip through the grapevine. In the process, we may ask and
answer the 5Ws and the H, but the answers we get are unfortunately based
on what little knowledge that is available at the time. Typically then, the
stories may change in scope from one receiver to the next. This is because
there is no rigor in the way everyday conversation is managed.
News is a whole different ballgame. It is a commodity that needs to be
managed from the source, through processing, in the selection of channels
of dissemination, all the way to the receiver. The adage ‘Garbage in =
Garbage out’ is particularly apt here. If the source of the information is
contaminated, the finished product is more likely than not destined to be
tarnished too. If any aspect of a report is factually inaccurate, the entire
piece loses credibility…along with the writer, the editor, and the
publisher/CEO.
A journalist therefore does not have the luxury of dealing in unchecked
facts and half-truths. She reduces the risk of ‘garbage in’ by being selective:
i. First in the institutions she relies on for her raw material.
ii. Secondly, she follows rigor in the processing of the gathered
material into news.
iii. Thirdly, she puts thought in the channel available for dissemination.
iv. And finally, she makes sure her profiled target Receiver gets the
message in time, right, the first time.
Source Process Medium Receiver
I

41
The Source: Gathering Good Information for News
To increase the chances of obtaining quality news, and to reduce instances
of error and contamination, the Enterprise Reporter depends on three main
broad categories for her source when gathering information.
i. Official/Traditional Sources,
ii. Alternative Sources, and
iii. The Enterprise Reporter’s Sources
i. Official/Traditional/Primary
Information gathered from the following sources is deemed credible and
acceptable for onward processing. News is usually about or generated by
this category of people anyway. Getting it from ‘the horse’s own mouth’ so
to say seems a logical thing for a time-constrained journalist to do. The
following are some official sources of information:
Bureau: The Journalist’s own media network.
Government: Parliament, Flagstaff House, Ministries, Departments and
Agencies, official spokespersons.
Representatives of recognized foreign entities: E.g. embassies and high
commissions, World bodies e.g. African Union, ECOWAS, UN agencies.
Wire agencies: News agencies e.g. GNA, Reuters, TASS, AP
Reporters: Employed professional staff.
Stringers/ Freelancers: Contributing journalists not employed by the
media house.
Personalities: Persons already famous for certain achievements.

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Celebrities: Famous people e.g. Internet sensations.
Interviews: Recorded conversations with news-worthy persons.
Law and Order: Police sources, court decisions, palace pronouncements
etc.
General Public: Eye witnesses, victims, perpetrators.
Events: Press conferences, political campaigns, church conventions, trade
fairs.
OB Vans: Outside broadcasting vans at rallies, sporting events, live
concerts.
Research: Findings, breakthroughs.
Academia: Peer-reviewed studies and Findings in reputable Journals.
Information gleaned from any of these sources is more likely to pass the
muster. Once it is determined that the source is authentic and credible, all
that then needs to be done is to get reactions from opposing or specialist
camps in the spirit of corroboration, objectivity, fairness and balance.
This is sometimes easier said than done; while the show must certainly
go on for a journalist, traditional sources are not always readily available
for comment. Sometimes their own senses of self-preservation and
expediency dictate that official spokespersons hedge or make themselves
‘scarce’. In many situations, the journalist may need clarification for a
breaking story, but alas there will be no one prepared to put themselves on
the line. Thankfully, there are alternative sources of information to confirm
or contradict the content of a story-in-progress.

43
ii. Alternative/Secondary Sources
Archives/ Library: This is a rich source of material that has already been
catalogued for easy access. A good archivist can bring out supporting
information in seconds, especially in this age of the computer and the
internet. Media house libraries must also have a collection of the house’s
old issues or tapes at a reporter’s beck.
Press Releases: These are usually issued by the public relations
departments of news sources. They tend to be slanted in favor of the issuing
organizations, but they offer official information that may point a journalist
in the right direction.
Internet: The internet is always an alternative to official sources. Every
institution of note has a credible official presence online. Updates and
postings on these platforms are avenues for information gathering. The
important consideration here is to always mine and quote from reliable sites
only. Sites that end in .gov and .edu are usually safe places to start digging.
Social Media: It is official that most Ghanaians get their news from social
media, Facebook being clearly the preferred source. It is thought that
particularly women and young people get their news first via social media
while visiting for other purposes. This means that the easiest way to find
out what people are talking about, want to read about or watch on TV or
listen on radio is what is circulating on social media. It will do the Enterprise
Journalist a host of good to take a little time to find out what is trending
there. The platforms highlight the subjects being discussed by users around
the world and this makes the reporter’s work easier in choosing the right
stories to cover or update.
Citizen Journalists: The ubiquity of the internet has turned members of the
general public into Citizen Journalists whose lack of training and skills are
compensated for by their passion for advocacy. As bloggers, this category
of pseudo-professionals creates much excitement by scooping traditional
media houses and sometimes trolling with fiery, off-topic messages in

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online communities. The forums they derive their following from - and blog
to - may be a source of original news ideas.
iii. The Enterprise Reporter’s Sources
When all else fails, the Enterprise Reporter has one last group of sources to
consider – the section of the general public that society forgot. These
characters present colorful sides to the main narratives and offer alternative
views to what the mainstream takes for granted.
Octogenarians: These are citizens who are over eighty (80) years old. They
experienced colonial tenure. They were there at independence. They
witnessed Ghana television go from black-and-white to color. They have
lived through the Aborted Generation (5 major coups d’état) and four
republics. They were there at the dawn of the technological breakthroughs
that spawned the PC, the internet, the cell phone, and social media. And yes,
their opinions do count, if only as a matter for comparing and contrasting.
Quotes from Octogenarians are almost always gems of the human interest
kind and tend to warm the hearts of receivers. In Accra, one suburb where
healthy, articulate persons 80 and above roam the streets freely is South
Odorkor Estates.
The disadvantaged: Beggars, the disabled, the less fortunate generally,
tend to see life and developments differently from the rest of society. Their
comments give a special twist on news stories. They add color to otherwise
boring treatments. A kaya ye’s comment on the budget coming after
analysis by a financial expert may put things in the entertaining perspective
that the ‘Ghanaian’ may understand better.
Mavericks and Social misfits: The legendary master drummer Kofi
Ghanaba gave some of the most incredible interviews. He really couldn’t
be bothered about the way he was perceived by the broader society, and so
his unguarded one-liners always made for interesting reading – if they ever
found their way into print.

45
Clergy: From wulomei, bishops to imams, religious leaders - especially
those that shepherd large congregations – are great resources for
interpreting developing stories.
In fact, the bottom-line is that everyone has a story to tell. Remember…if
there are 5,000,000 residents in Accra, then there are 5,000,000 stories in
the city waiting to be told.
NB: Chapter 4 Self-assessment Exercise on page 97]

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CHAPTERFIVE
Newsgathering Techniques
President John Agyekum Kufuor with members of the press.

47
Honing Your Information-gathering Skills
nformation is the raw material for crafting news. A journalist has to
select specific sources to prospect, sift through the chaff, isolate the
facts, and refine them to make NEWS.
It is like a mineral mine: miners have to dig tons of earth, separate the
ore, smelt it, refine what is left, before they are actually able to obtain a little
precious gem. A good miner needs to ensure that the area they are
prospecting is high value, the tools they are using are appropriate for the
dig, there is a refinery available nearby, before they can get some gems out
of their labor.
In intelligence gathering, the phrase GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT,
is commonly used to mean that flawed chatter will always lead to unsound
deductions. This same principle applies to gathering information for
processing into news for broadcasting. With the proliferation of data all
around us, alas, anyone can have access to news. Many are the instances
where rumor gets passed on as news. The internet is rife with examples of
rubbish going viral, and sometimes being actually carried by mainstream
media. The truth of the matter is, GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT:
flawed information leads to bad – as in non-factual - NEWS.
The Enterprise journalist does not have that luxury of collecting spurious
data in the first place. To sift through the chaff, they must be discerning in
the discipline of targeting the source, crosschecking facts, corroborating
data, before turning it into news for public consumption. This is the
foundation that Kovach and Rosenstiel call “a discipline of verification”
(2007).
The Enterprise Reporter’s Professional Disposition
To start however, an Enterprise Reporter must fundamentally be seen as
being professional. This means, his demeanor must reflect a person who is:
1. Dependable, with a reputation for being fair and balanced,
trustworthy
2. Empathetic,
I

Nana S. Achampong
48
3. Discrete, and
4. Able to mix socially
Needed Skill-set
The first step towards mastering the art of gathering information is to work
at cultivating the skills that make one an effective journalist. The essential
skill-set includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:
1. Listening and Attentiveness
2. Retention
3. Maintaining contacts
4. Managing time under pressure, e.g. amidst breaking news, and
5. Cross-checking facts
Tools
Being prepared and ready at all times, no matter the location, is what
separates the Enterprise Reporter from regular reporters. Fortunately, the
essential tools needed for information-gathering are part of most people’s
everyday social accessories:
1. The smartphone: is also your camera, recorder, transmitter,
communicator, researcher, etc.
2. A pocket writing pad, and
3. A pencil
Ethics and Constraints
Now that you’re ready to gather information for news you can use, it
behooves you to employ the skills you have acquired and to be circumspect.
Ask yourself:
i. Is what I am covering in the Public interest/good?
ii. What is its significance?

49
iii. Is there Profanity?
iv. Am I respecting others’ Privacy?
v. Is it Legal?
If any of the answers is ‘NO’, think again.
10 Tested TECHNIQUES of Gathering Information for News
Of course, just as sources of NEWS are as many as people consuming it,
there are millions of ways and techniques to gather the raw material.
Fortunately, experience has taught journalists that there are tried and tested
methods of collecting information that make the process more foolproof and
less tedious. The following are ten of the more intuitive techniques:
1. Research
2. Formal request for information: with questionnaire, via Public
Relations Officers, Freedom of Information Act, etc.
3. Observation
4. Interviews
5. The Beat: e.g. Police or Court beat
6. The ‘Date’: arranging to meet a source
7. Using an Insider: whistleblowers
8. Using colleague connections
9. Mailing list
10. The Hound: Sniffs stories discreetly.
Definite DON’Ts
You may be enthralled by the techniques and operations of the likes of the
award-winning Anas Aremeyaw Anas etc., but true journalism calls its
practitioners to stay on the straight and narrow. Anas and company may be
fine with doing intelligence work, employing tactics that are more akin to
spy dramas; true journalism however shies away from schemes that are
controversial at best, and are confined to ethical, transparent methods.
Under no circumstance should the Enterprise Reporter indulge in subterfuge

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50
and underhanded means to gather information for the purpose of making
news. Following are definite no-nos.
1. Waylaying
2. Using minors
3. Entrapment
4. Wikipedia and other ‘user-content provider’ websites
When in Doubt, or Difficulty,
Consult senior colleagues. It sometimes helps to share your challenges with
colleagues. You may sometimes get a different perspective. A colleague
may have gone down that trail before, and may be in a position to give you
some tips and hints.

51
CHAPTERSIX
The Art of Interviewing

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Effective Interviewing Skills
nterviewing is a very important part of journalism. It is often a primary
source of information, whether it be for news production or in-depth
topics.
Some consider interviewing to be an art. Certainly, it is not a highly
theoretical topic but rather a skill that develops with practice and
experience. Following are fundamental techniques and tips for successful
interviews.
Preparing the interview
Choosing a topic
To perform proper interviews, one must first pick an appropriate topic and
familiarize oneself with the subject. One also needs to choose an angle to
the topic.
Choosing whom to interview
The better you know your topic, the easier it will be to choose an appropriate
person to interview. Not knowing your topic in enough depth may leave a
bad impression on your guest. The impact of the interview depends on
whom you interview and who will be listening to the interview.
Make sure your receiver can relate to your source/interviewee. Let's
imagine a radio program about the Chorkor smoker, aimed at fishing
populations. It would be much wiser to interview some fisher folk who have
used the technique than to interview a foreign technical expert. On the other
hand, imagine a story about the government budget, aimed at educated
urban listeners. The choice of an articulate economist might be more
appropriate than ‘person on the street’ mini interviews.
The closer your receiver feels to the interviewee, the more the interview
will arouse their interest. There are of course exceptions. Certain topics
require interviewing people directly involved with the event.
Contacting the interviewee
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53
Once you have chosen your source(s), you will contact them to request the
interview.
 Make sure the topic of the interview is clear.
 You can take advantage of this contact to ask one or two questions to
help you further your research. This generally shows interest in the topic
and will be appreciated.
Planning the interview
Once your interview is set up, you need to prepare your questions and notes.
 You must always prioritize the most important questions because you
never know how long the interview will take and how far down the list
you will get.
 Avoid trying to obtain as much information as possible; rather, pick a
precise angle and try to keep your questions around it.
 Avoid closed-ended questions that can be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Examples:
Closed-ended: Do you think that this event is significant?
Open-ended: What do you think is the significance of this event?
 Ask questions in relation to what you will do with the responses. That
is, if you are interviewing for the daily news, ask only as many questions
as you reasonably need to have material for editing. Asking 25 questions
and using only one may annoy your source and she may be reluctant to
agree to further interviews.
 You need to give your source the feeling that you know exactly where
you are going.
 Even though your questions are prepared in advance, be prepared to
improvise if the situation requires. Your questionnaire is just a guide.
Be ready to ask questions that arise from your interviewee's answers and
which are not prepared in advance.
Location

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Choose a calm, comfortable location. Noisy environments should be
avoided. You should choose somewhere where you will not be interrupted
at all.
The interview
Immediately before going to the interview, test your equipment. Better take
those extra five minutes before you are with your source! Take extra
batteries for your voice recorder just in case. If you are using your
smartphone, make sure you have ample memory, your phone is fully
charged, and switched to flight mode to prevent unnecessary interruptions
during recording.
 Be on time. Being late conveys the impression that you are not all that
interested.
 If you are meeting the source for the first time, take the time to introduce
yourself. Also, take the time to explain the context of the interview and
what you intend to do with it. This will help your source feel at ease.
 Initially ask your source to introduce themselves. This will allow you to
adjust the sound levels on your recording device.
 Don't rush your source. Some people need more time to adjust than
others. The time you spend chatting builds a link and will help ensure
that you can contact the person after the interview for clarifications.
 Try to seem as present as possible and to show interest for your source's
answers. Occasional nods convey interest and attention.
 Your body language conveys how you feel and can help make your
source more relaxed.
 If you stumble when asking a question, it is probably better to ask from
the start again. Everybody makes mistakes.
 Do not hesitate to reformulate questions that have not been answered
properly or which received an off-topic answer.
 Prepare some diversion in case you need a short break to mentally re-
organize your ideas. For instance, you could tend to the recording
device.

55
 Give your source some freedom but make sure you guide and control
the conversation.
 Do not hesitate to interrupt if you do not understand something. Chances
are your listeners will not understand either. This is especially true for
technical topics.
 You can be firm but never aggressive.
 Try to understand your source and make sure you never give the
impression that you want to trap them or that you are “out to get them"!
 At the end of the interview, you can ask your source if you have
forgotten to ask a question or whether they have anything to add.
Depending on the topic, you can also ask them to sum up what they have
spoken about.
 If you plan on pursuing the same topic on another occasion, you can ask
your source if they can recommend other people who can help you.
 If you need sound effects, take them separately from the interview and
mix them back at the studio.
On and off the record
During an interview, your source may speak on and off the record. You
should strictly respect this and never quote a source on something that was
said off the record. Remember: you may use the information, but you cannot
attribute it to the source.
 In general, the tape recorder is a good indicator of what is on and what
is off the record. A safe rule would be to never quote your source if the
information hasn't been recorded. The general perception is that what is
on tape is on the record and what isn't is off the record.
 Always make your source aware of what you consider on and off the
record.
Other types of interviews
Field interviews
This type of interview is usually done on the spot of an event, be it at the
scene of a news event, a live performance etc. For this type of interview,

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56
you may not have as much time to prepare and do background research. It
will help if you jot down some questions before the interview but you will
need to improvise more.
Man on the street interviews/ Vox Pop
In this type of interview, people are chosen at random on the street, and
asked to voice their opinion about an event or a personality. Man on the
street interviews are usually very short - one, maybe two questions at most.
This type of interview is often used to get the feel of public opinion on a
particular topic and eventually inserted in a larger story. Your question must
be open-ended.
Phone interviews
This type of interview differs in that you do not have visual contact with the
source being interviewed. You therefore need to try and compensate using
voice only. Since this type of interview can be stopped at any moment, it is
better to prioritize questions.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Processing Information into News

57
A stack of Ghanaian newspapers

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58
A Discipline of Verification
nd so, you have finished your big interview with a government
official and you are on your way to writing that masterpiece for
the next news bulletin or tomorrow’s front page, or perhaps to
submit for a Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Award. This
is the point where you comb through what you have and carefully sift
through the chaff. There must be one thing on your mind: due diligence.
Due diligence is the discipline of verification. It refers to the exercise of
voluntarily but compulsively investigating any claims that may seem off,
checking new facts, and going over a checklist to ensure that you have
followed a process of sort to minimize error and opinion. The Enterprise
Reporter writes her story out and asks herself the following questions:
 Are the facts Accurate?
 Am I writing as an Independent person?
 Am I portraying the central characters and their views Fairly?
 Are my positions Impartial?
 Am I ready to assume Accountability for what I’m writing?
 Is my account measured and Proportionate?
Characteristics of News: Stripping Bias and Opinion
Journalism is a craft, and needs to be learnt the hard way. To excel, you
need to be a good craftsman. You should know how to structure a news
report, how to write a headline and how to make news pages. In order not
to reinvent the wheel, years of practice have isolated certain qualities that
characterize news. By ensuring that your story has these characteristics, you
go through the process of due diligence and strip the story of your own
personal bias and opinion along the way.
These and many more may be used to exorcise prejudice. Besides, they
ensure that the resulting reports meet industry standards. Following are five
of these characteristics that every good news report should possess:
A

59
Fairness and balance
As a reporter you must learn to get the other point of view. This may mean
calling a person late at night to get his side of the story or even holding back
an investigative piece for a day. But you must do so. This is the best way to
bring balance in the copy. There may be times when an individual may
avoid making a statement. In such a case, state the point, indicating the
efforts you made to get their point of view.
Fairness requires that you don’t impute motives. Remember that your
news report is going to be read by hundreds of people, and you can influence
their thinking by using loaded words. It is always best to use neutral words.
Accuracy
This is the first requirement of a good news report. You must get all your
facts right, starting from the name and designation of the subject to the
statements made by them. You cannot hide behind the excuse that there was
not enough time to cross-check the facts. The facts that you need to check
are:
 Names and their spellings
 Designations
 Incident details. In case it is an accident you must know the exact
number of people who were injured or killed.
 Statements: The quote reported in the news must be accurate, and
in context. It should not be misinterpreted to imply another
meaning.
 If it is a science story you must make sure that all scientific names
are correctly spelt, and explained.
 If it is a sports story then you must make sure that the number of
goals scored is mentioned accurately.
 If it is a court story you must make sure that the court verdict is
presented accurately.

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Attribution
All news reports, with a few exceptions, must be sourced. The source can
be identified as follows:
a. Individual: An individual, who witnessed an accident or survived an
earthquake, can be quoted by name as an eyewitness.
b. Organization: A spokesperson authorized by an organization to brief
the media on its behalf. The spokesman can be referred to by:
i) Name and designation
Mr Kwaku Tawia, Police Commissioner, told the media…
ii) Designation alone
The Police Commissioner told the media …
c. Anonymous sources: There are occasions when a news source, who
happens to be a senior government official or an important leader, does
not want his or her name to be used. In such cases, the reporter can
attribute the story to ‘informed sources’ or ‘well connected sources’ or
‘official sources’ or ‘sources who don’t wish to be named’. However,
the reporter must know the source well, and should trust that the
information provided is correct.
d. Exceptions: The reporter need not worry about attribution in those
cases that he has witnessed. For instance, the reporter can report a
football match or a political rally stating what happened. This is because
these are statements of fact that have occurred in public domain, and
have been witnessed by scores of people. The same applies to the
swearing in of a new government, or historical facts.
Brevity
The importance of this characteristic cannot be overstressed. You must
learn to write short stories without missing important facts. Please

61
remember that today’s reader is in a hurry. They do not have the patience to
go through long news reports. Brevity does not mean merely writing a short
story; it also means using short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
Clarity
This is not easy to achieve. You are required to report an event in as few
words as possible. You can do this if you use short and simple words and
keep out irrelevant facts. The Lead of your report must be short and crisp.
The body must be made up of as few paragraphs as possible with each
paragraph devoted to one point.
There should be no ambiguities. The facts must be sourced, and accurate.

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Elements of News: Targeting Your Receiver
fter going through the discipline of verification to ensure accuracy,
fairness, balance and such, a journalist must follow another rigor
in the pursuit of her Receiver. Here again, she has to check and
ensure that her story has the determinants that her Receiver uses to consider
what is News. This is the way journalists are able to target and reach the
end-user of their hard work.
 Will the receiver find the information Timely?
 Will the receiver find the content close to home in terms of
Proximity?
 Does the News have Relevance to the receiver?
 Does the story have Clarity and Concision as far as the receiver is
concerned?
 Is the story about anyone the Receiver would consider Prominent?
 Does the story have Impact in the life of the receiver?
 Will the receiver find sufficient Drama and Conflict in the story?
A journalist who is able to answer ‘yes’ to most of these questions above
has her receiver in her pocket.
Timeliness: If it happened today—rather than yesterday—it just might be
news. Journalists stress current information—stories occurring today or
yesterday, not several weeks ago—and try to report it ahead of their
competitors. When reporting a story that occurred even hours earlier,
journalists look for fresh angles and new details around which to build their
stories. If background is necessary, they usually keep it to a minimum and
weave it throughout the story
Impact: If it affects readers—physically or emotionally—it just might be
news. Reporters stress important information that has an impact on their
Receiver: stories that affect, involve or interest thousands of readers or
viewers. Tax increases that take money from the Receiver’s pocket matter
more than tax increases that don’t.
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63
Prominence: If it happened to a recognizable person, it just might be news.
If a tro-tro driver in Adabraka, Accra, catches a cold, no one cares, except
that person’s friends and family. If the president of Ghana catches a cold,
the stock market could lose some points.
Proximity: If it happened in a place that readers feel a connection to—
someplace they feel allied with, rather than some “faraway” place—it just
might be news. The closer an event is to home, the more newsworthy it
becomes: a tsunami in faraway Far East may kill thousands and destroy
untold property, but it would not matter more than an accident in Konongo,
Asante Region, that cost the lives of three school children. However,
proximity can be psychological too: stories about tertiary school students
and high fees in South Africa may resonate with a student at AUCC in
Ghana who feels it is “close to home” because she might be going through
something similar.
Singularity/ Novelty: If something has never happened before, it just might
be news. Deviations from the normal - unexpected or unusual events,
conflicts or controversies, drama or change - are more newsworthy than the
commonplace.
Conflict or Controversy: If somebody is struggling with a problem, it just
might be news. Two people arguing about a social issue is more newsworthy
than two people who agree about that issue. The tension between the
subjects creates the conflict that often makes a story dramatic and
interesting to read. While conflict between groups can be viewed as
negative news, it often provides readers and viewers with different opinions
about policies and problems.
Relevance: Information that is relevant or that connects to people in some
way is newsworthy. Some stories may be interesting and give insight into
the lives of other people but may be irrelevant to the lives of viewers. The
more information connects to the lives of the Receiver, the stronger its news
value. Despite today's competitive pressures, news judgment should be
based on impact and relevance rather than drama. Bear in mind that
relevance diminishes with distance. In the short term, a receiver may find

Nana S. Achampong
64
entertainment value in a story that is not pertinent to their lives, but in the
long term the receiver will seek news sources that consistently provide
relevant information.
The number of people involved or affected: The more people involved in
a news event, be it a demonstration or a tragic accident, the more
newsworthy the story is. Likewise, the number of people affected by the
event, whether it's a new health threat or a new tax ruling, the more
newsworthy the story is.
Consequence: The fact that a car hit a utility pole isn't news, unless, as a
consequence, power is lost throughout a city for several hours. The fact that
a computer virus found its way into a computer system might not be news
until it bankrupts a business, shuts down a telephone system, or endangers
lives by destroying crucial medical data at a hospital.
Human interest: Human-interest stories are generally soft news. Examples
would be a beauty contest for persons with physical disability, or a person
whose pet happens to be a nine-foot boa constrictor. Human-interest angles
can be found in most hard news stories. A flood will undoubtedly have
many human-interest angles: a lost child reunited with its parents after two
days etc.
Pathos: The fact that people like to hear about the misfortunes of others
can't be denied. Seeing or hearing about such things commonly elicits
feelings of pity, sorrow, sympathy, and compassion. Some call these stories
‘tear jerkers’. Examples are the child who is now all alone after his parents
were killed in a car accident, the elderly woman who just lost her life
savings to a con artist, or the blind man whose seeing-eye dog was poisoned.
Shock value and Scandals: An explosion in a factory has less shock value
if it was caused by gas leak than if it was caused by a terrorist. The story of
a six year-old boy who shot his mother with a revolver found in a bedside
drawer has more shock (and therefore news) value than if same woman died
of a heart attack.

65
Titillation component: This factor primarily involves gender and the
gratuitous baring of flesh.

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CHAPTEREIGHT
The Right Medium
Cape Coast, from across the Baka at dusk. Photograph by Nile Achampong 2015.

67
Packaging for the Medium
o, now you’ve sifted through your information and run it through a
deliberate rigor to rid it off all bias possible and to ensure that it has
satisfied the determinants that meet your Receiver’s needs. In what
medium do you transmit the news? Radio? Television? Print? Online? In
what form do you get the processed news to her? It could be straightforward
news; it could be in the form of a feature. It could be a review, or an opinion
piece. A journalist – other than a freelancer – may not have the option to
choose medium, but she surely can choose the form her story will eventually
take.
Choosing the Right Type of News Article
News Reports, as we have already discussed, follow the pattern of the
inverted pyramid where all the important facts are put upfront in a timely
manner from an objective point of view without editorial comment. Also
called ‘Hard News’ or ‘Straightforward News’, news articles are usually
short, and explain the who, what, when, where, why and how of noteworthy
items. These are found at the front of a newspaper. They inform readers
about things that are happening in the world or in the local area.
Features on the other hand follow no particular pattern; the most salient
points may be buried towards their tail. They do not necessarily have to
employ the inverted pyramid style. They are subjective pieces that carry the
opinions of their authors. They are not limited to current issues; and they
may run as long as the editor would permit. In some publications, features
are even serialized. Features may cover lifestyle or cultural topics, and are
often considered “softer” than news articles. Features explore news stories
in more depth. Their purpose is not just to tell you what has happened, but
to explore or analyze the reasons why.
S

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An Editorial is an article in a newspaper or other periodical presenting the
opinion of the publisher, editor, or publication. It does not receive a byline
because it represents the opinion of the newspaper.
A Review is an article critiquing an art form: movie, concert, recording,
television program, book, art, restaurant etc.
Columns and opinion pieces are pieces by 'personality' writers to inform
(because the writer's expert opinion is valued), or they might be there to
entertain (because the writer has a comic or interesting way of describing
everyday life).

69
The Right Media Channels
freelancer or stringer is not attached to any particular media
house. She can therefore tailor her articles to meet the styles and
needs of specific organizations. She has a choice of targeting her
article through the right channel to reach her Receiver.
A Media channel refers to the means used to transmit a message.
Examples include: radio, television, newspaper, the internet, etc.
Broadcast Media
There are two main forms of broadcast: television and radio. Also called
Electronic Media, this media allows the use of audio/visual messages,
giving the reporter more senses of the Receiver to work with than other
media.
Print Media
Print media is one of the most popular industries and the reason is that it is
one of the easiest ways to reach targeted readers. Print media includes
magazines, newspaper, periodicals, leaflets etc. They do not have the
disadvantage of transience which characterizes broadcast media.
New Media
New media offers greater interaction between the reporter and her Receiver.
The interface online is potentially immediate and includes methods such as
online messages or SMS texts, or even the rise in QR codes. The packaged
news may be sent directly to a Receiver’s portal such as the smartphone.
CHAPTERNINE
A

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Targeting the Right Receiver

71
Meet the End-user: the Receiver
f the main purpose of news is to persuade, then every journalist,
consciously or not, has a profiled consumer in mind that she labors
around the clock to influence. The profile comes under many guises:
“We are a Christian station”, a Radio Gold Exec told this author once.
Junior Graphic and Graphic Showbiz are self-touting. Most media houses
put the profiled receiver at the center of their operations and endeavor to
reach her always.
Whether you operate a fashion magazine, a GHOne-type youth
television, or an Akan radio such as Peace FM, it is essential to know who
your receiver is. Following are some of the issues to consider when deciding
who the target receiver is.
Profiling
Profiling is especially essential when scripting for radio. In radio, the
effective approach is to write as if the news was directed at one person, say,
a petty-trading semiliterate Christian single mother in Adabraka, Accra, or
a 60-something traditionalist family-head cocoa farmer in Apedwa, Eastern
Region, or an unemployed 20-something Muslim economics graduate in
Asokwa, Kumasi. Profiling and targeting are important because, obviously,
whatever the nature of the story, the journalist would have to package it
uniquely to reach any of these three persons above. This is essential because
there are numerous angles to every story and these angles are not a one-size-
fits-all as far as receivers are concerned.
In writing about a government budget for instance, a journalist needs to
know who her receiver is in order to know the right angle to choose for
treatment. To make sense to the single mother in Adabraka, she must focus
more on provisions that deal with taxation of small enterprises, social safety
nets for the vulnerable in society, and assistance for small businesses. The
cocoa farmer will benefit from news about commodity pricing, assistance
for cash crop farmers, and issues concerning pensions for the informal
sector. For our unemployed graduate in Kumasi, the words that would
resonate are jobs, further education, and career development.
I

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Intellectual Empathy
Intellectual empathy is when a journalist manages to embrace the mindset
of her receiver and ‘feel’ the way they live, what they consider important,
their values and their aspirations. This understanding informs the journalist
on what stories to chase, what angles to focus on, and what ways to treat
them.
Public Interest/ Public Good
Contrary to common usage, the ‘public interest’ is not simply what interests
the public. The public interest refers to information which the population
will be better-off knowing or worse-off not knowing. This is an important
issue to consider when deciding who the target receiver is and what to feed
her. Will the semiliterate single mother in Adabraka, or the cocoa farmer in
Apedwa, or the Muslim graduate be better off knowing the information we
wish to share? Will they be harmed if they are not given the news?
Relevance
A journalist has to ascertain that the news she is dishing out is one her
receiver will find relevant to their life. In this age of information overload,
the temptation is to inundate consumers with the latest news. The danger
here is that, a terrorist bombing in London may be significant in terms of
lives and property lost and geopolitics and all, but it may not be relevant to
the semiliterate single mother in Adabraka, or the cocoa farmer in Apedwa.
The terrorist act becomes relevant only if the receivers have some
connection with some aspect of the story. For instance, if a percentage of
Adabraka residents have relatives living in London who remit money
regularly, then the news will be relevant.
Profanity and Level of Language
Language can isolate or embrace when deciding who the target receiver is.
Music stations may select their audience merely by the kind of music they
play. Television stations may push away viewers by the nature of ratings

AN INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM

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