Journalism: Channel 4 News

Today I watched Channel 4 news at 5 (pm). Channel 4 is Jacksonville’s local station which covers local news. Lately with Presidential elections coming up, the station has been covering the political conventions and events. Tonight Channel 4 mostly covered the weather updates, local new updates, political news, world news about an earthquake, and even a breaking new alert about a Swat Standoff on the Westside. Some days channel 4 dose sports broadcasts and updates.

The reporters on channel 4 rarely show opinion in their reporting. Usually if opinion is show they reporters are discussing a topic or joking around with one another; they never make an opinion on important news but on little things like the weather. Before opinion is shown the reporters always make sure they cover the topic first.

 Channel 4 is good about getting first-hand information on a report. Most of the time the station has reporters on the scene and they interview witnesses. Channel 4 is also good about getting both sides of the story and not leaving out any information. The station is constantly updating its viewers about breaking news as well. I don’t think that there is anything that the news station needs to improve on. They seem to cover all that is needed. I enjoy watching channel 4 news.

Where do Newspapers make their money?

In the newspaper business there is potential to make loads of money. But how exactly does a Newspaper company make its dough?  For a paper to be profitable, the company must create an interesting paper that others are willing to read and they must know where the paper can make a profit. So, where exactly does a papers profit lie?

 For a newspaper company to gain profit in any way, they must first make a paper that people are willing to purchase and read. Though I am stating the obvious, it is a very important point. You want to give the people news that their interested about. People also want to know that their source for news is credible; so don’t go publishing unreliable sensational news for a profit, because it won’t help sales in the end. If you don’t have a good, credible, and interesting paper, you won’t have many readers, and without readers you can’t get into where the real profit in the newspaper business lies, advertising.

Advertising is where the big profit lies in the newspaper business. To attract advertisers, the company needs to show the advertisers that they have a good following of people who are willing to purchase and subscribe to the paper. The newspaper company must also have descent costs for advertising; so it would be best for the newspaper company to compare the prices for advertising in other newspapers. Once you have people who are willing to advertise you can charge different prices for different types of advertising and for different spots on the paper; when it comes to advertising in papers it’s all about location.

In the newspaper business, a company can make some serious dough. For newspaper companies to make a good profit, they need to have a good, interesting, and credible paper that people are willing to read. With readers comes willing advertisers; which is where the profit lies, in advertising. These are the ways in which newspapers make their money.

Resources:

1. Sutton, J. (2008, July 28). Newspaper-Info:Making Money. Retrieved September 5, 2012, from:  http://www.newspaper-info.com/more/news3.htm

2. Waltenburg, D. ehow: How does a newspaper make money?. Retrieved September 5, 2012, from:  http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4690012_newspaper-money.html

Journalism 1: What is News?

What is news? In today’s world news comes from many different places and in many different forms. We can also receive news instantly. Our generation has all this information right at its fingertips.

When one thinks of news, the first thing that usually pops into mind is newspapers or television news reporters and anchors; but those are just the beginning of what news really is. Today we have put to use some of the greatest inventions to date. We have the radio, the telephone, the television, and the internet; all of these wonderful inventions have become a great tool for spreading today’s news. You may not think about it much but many social networking sites are great news sources, like twitter and facebook; with these sites you can receive news updates from your friends and you can also get news from the pros. One can also receive new from blogs and vlogs. There are just so many ways to get news today.

What make news different from other forms of communication? News is a prepared report of an event or information. The reporting of news is a big task and requires a lot of preparation to make sure it is right and nothing is left out. Other forms of Communication aren’t that much different from news, except in the fact that the news has more prep and is meant for everyone to hear. The news is a more professional way of communicating about events and facts.

The Evolution of American Journalism

   American Journalism has massively grown since it first began. The people of America are a people with a need to be informed and a desire to be heard. The founding fathers understood those needs and desires when they decided to protect the people’s freedom of speech and freedom of press through the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. From the first newspaper, to photography, radio, television, and computers, American’s have exercised those rights.

    Before America was Independent from Britain and before the first Amendment was even created, we had the first American newspaper, “Public Occurrences”, which was published and written by Benjamin Harris in 1690. Unfortunately, this paper did not last long due to some puritan critics who found a way to silence Harris by arresting him for his refusal to apply for a publishing license; therefore, ending the paper in the same year. Though the puritans silenced Harris they did not silence America. In the mid-1700’s Benjamin Franklin had many successful papers published. Two of Franklin’s most popular papers were the “Pennsylvania Gazette” and “Poor Richards Almanack”. In the 1800’s more newspapers were being published as well as magazines. These papers and magazines had new features added to them, like the sports and photography (mid-1800’s). Photography was also used during the Civil War (1861-1865) making it the first war to be documented by photography. The next step for journalism was the Radio. On Election Day 1920, KDKA made the first radio news broadcast in which people heard the results of the Harding-Cox Presidential race before it came out in the paper. KDKA then became a huge hit and inspired other stations to take up broadcasting. In the mid-1940’s television news started and at the movies short news clips were shown either before or after the show. In the 1980’s news moved from the typewriter to the computer. Since to the World Wide Web, journalism has exploded. With the Internet you get news from all around the world and whenever you want it; you have all this information right at your fingertips.

     Without early journalism and the freedom of speech and press, America would not be where it is today. The Americans who were willing to put in the work and test the boundaries of journalism before freedom of press and before all this technology, helped to pave the foundation for America’s future. Without the First Amendment, the government would control the news and much of the truth would be hidden from the American people. Thanks to the First Amendment journalism is a right of the American people and it will continue to inform and evolve in the years to come.

References

1.            Saunders, R. (2009,May 5). America's First Newspaper - Boston – 1690.

              Retrieved August 9, 2012, from: http://suite101.com/article/americas-first-newspaper-boston-1690-a115120

2.            PBS.(nd). Retrieved August 9, 2012, from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt20ra.html

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