The Mind of a Journalist - Willis, Jim

Résumé :
Written by veteran journalist and noted professor Jim Willis, with an epilogue by Marilyn Thomsen, this book introduces journalistic decision-making into the classroom, alongside discussion of reporting and writing techniques. Students peer inside the minds of a cross-section of print, broadcast, and online journalists by way of exclusive interviews and additional research that provide a deep, broad glimpse into how they perceive themselves, their world, and their craft. Ultimately, this provocative text provides added insights into how journalists think and why they do what they do. Features and Benefits Original interviews with contemporary journalists at varying career stages. Offers a rarely seen, inside look at the world of journalists from media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, CNN, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, KUSA Television in Denver, and The Oklahoman. Anecdotes involving how journalists work. Translates abstract thinking into the reality of everyday journalism. Interviews with several war reporters. Portrays the impact of covering war on those reporting from the field. An example of how different journalists approach traumatic stories such as 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing, and Hurricane Katrina. Illuminates different orientations to conveying truth and dealing with ethical dilemmas involved in such disaster coverage. Seasoned journalists examine the following areasFactors that lure young people into journalism as a career The stance journalists take toward the world they are assigned to cover Ethical dilemmas How close to get to a story or how far to distance themselves from it The socialization of journalists and the role their own personal ideologies may play in their work as reporters and editors How one's faith might influence the coverage of a story The mixing of news and entertainment The Mind of a Journalist is an appropriate and innovative supplement for a variety of media studies courses, including Introduction to Journalism, News Writing and Reporting, Advanced Reporting, Journalism and Society, and Ethics, among many others.

Biographie:
Jim Willis is a veteran journalist for The Oklahoman and The Dallas Morning News and is now Chair and Professor of Communication Studies at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California. His reporting assignments have included the Oklahoma City bombing, the F5 tornado that struck Oklahoma City, and the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He has taught at the universities of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Memphis, and chaired the Communication Department at Boston College. He has authored ten books on journalists and the media, and he lectures widely in Europe on the American news media. He holds the Ph.D. in Journalism from the University of Missouri and the B.A. from the University of Oklahoma. He is married and has two sons and three stepdaughters.

Sommaire:
Foreword: The Thinking Journalist
Chapter 1: The Lure of Journalism
The Love of Reading and Writing
An Intense Curiosity
A Desire to Contribute
The Independence Factor
Being on the Inside
The Challenges of Going Deeper
Chapter 2: The Priesthood of Journalists
Journalism as the Fourth Estate
Learning the Ropes
The Separated Journalist
Journalists as Advocates
Feeling the Pulse
Granting Confidentiality
Legal Ramifications of Confidentiality
Editors Discourage Confidentiality
Anonymous Sources in Washington
Chapter 3: The Journalist?s View of the World
The Journalist and Worldviews
The Importance of Time
News as a Reflection of the World
The Concept of Ethnocentrism
Cultural Immersion
The Risk of Involvement
The Concept of Ambiguity
Diversity Among Journalists
The Socialization of Journalists
Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values
Chapter 4: Journalists, Theory, and Ethics
The Pragmatics of Journalism
Media Effects
A Primer in Media Theory
The Question of Objectivity
Ethics and Journalists
Fabricating News
Credibility as Currency of the Realm
Encouraging Ethics in Politics
Diversity in the Newsroom
Separating Business From Journalism
Chapter 5: The Journalist as an Ideologue
Revisiting Objectivity
The Subjective Prisms of Cultures
Enduring Values
Journalists and Politics
What the Data Reveal
Serving as the Victims? Voice
Reports, Inferences, and Judgments
Where Passion Enters In
Op-Ed News
Chapter 6: The Journalist and Faith
A Reluctant Story
Top Religion Stories for 2007
Resources for Religion Writers
An Interesting Study
A Journalist?s Own Religion
Faith-Based Journalistic Organizations
Faith-Based Media
Stepping Into Another?s Faith
An Ongoing Tension
A Final Thought
Chapter 7: The Journalist as Celebrity
An Obsession with Celebrity
USC Targets the Issue
Celebrity Journalists
Critics From Within
A Double Standard, an Expected Deference
Katie Couric?s New Persona
Cooper?s Emotional Journalism
A Possible Distortion
The Latest in a Trend?
Chapter 8: Questions Vexing Journalists
A Young Journalist Weighs In
One Frustrated Anchor
Rays of Hope
Some Stay, Some Move On
Epilogue: Reporting From Iraq: Journalists Talk About Covering War
Afterword: A Personal Odyssey
Appendix 1: Covering Katrina: On Taking It Personally
Appendix 2: Thirteen Unique Journalists
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author