What is Journalism?

Dan Gillmor discusses what journalism is...

     This morning's speaker, Dan Gillmor, reminded me of the lectures I heard as part of my master's degree in integrated technology. I find the evolution of media fascinating, and we covered that plenty at Eastern Michigan University. But my real mission is to find what I can take back to my classroom, and he covered that, too.
      I find his comparisons of what journalism is and isn't to be interesting and helpful. In my sophomore English class we begin to teach the importance of recognizing credible sources as part of doing a research paper. While students tend to get hung up on MLA formatting, I wish they'd focus more on searching for credible information that supports their research.
     There's too much information and so much   

of it is garbage. My concern is that students
don't take the time to pick through the garbage.
I think covering Dan's principles may help.










Principles of reading and research
1. Skepticism- Be skeptical of absolutely everything,
2. Judgment- But not equally skeptical of absolutely everything
3. Research - Ask your own questions, especially when making big decisions
4. Free thinking - Go outside your comfort zone, in politics and culture. Be relentless with yourself.
5. Techniques - Create media and understand how media persuade

"Wikipedia is the best place to start, but the worst place to stop. Look at the bottom for the source material and go there."

And for my journalism students:

Journalistic principles for creators
Thoroughness
Accuracy
Fairness
Independence
Transparency

Thanks, Dan.

Kathryn Burkholder
Pinckney High School
Pinckney, MI