Mass Communication & Journalism

Mort Zuckerman considers himself a "print junkie." But the billionaire real estate and media mogul told The Upshot that Friday's decision to make U.S. News & World Report a digital magazine with special print issues was the only way to ensure the magazine's "long-term viability." The magazine's staff were notified of the change in a memo Friday afternoon. "We're finally ready to complete our transition to a predominantly digital publishing model with selected, single-topic print issues," the memo read. "This will allow us to make the most of the proven products, useful journalism, and great audience growth we've been sustaining." The magazine's December issue will be its last monthly print offering. U.S. News & World Report used to be a weekly magazine, like Time and Newsweek, but scaled back to a monthly two years ago under financial pressure. U.S. News & World Report will continue to print its guides, inc...

News stories aren't the only type of material that appear in newspapers and magazines. Longer articles, such as magazine cover articles and the pieces that lead the inside sections of a newspaper, are known as features. Feature stories differ from straight news in several ways. Foremost is the absence of a straight-news lead, most of the time. Instead of offering the essence of a story up front, feature writers may attempt to lure readers in. While straight news stories always stay in third person point of view, it's not uncommon for a feature article to slip into first person. The journalist will often detail his or her interactions with interview subjects, making the piece more personal. A feature's first paragraphs often relate an intriguing moment or event, as in an "anecdotal lead". From the particulars of a person or episode, its view quickly broadens to generalities about the story's subject. The section that signals what a feature is about is called...

Newspapers and periodicals often contain features written by journalists, many of whom specialize in this form of in-depth journalistic writing. Feature articles are usually longer forms of writing; more attention is paid to style than in straight news reports. They are often combined with photographs, drawings or other "art." They may also be highlighted by typographic effects or colors. Writing features can be more demanding than writing straight news stories, because while a journalist must apply the same amount of effort to accurately gather and report the facts of the story, he or she must also find a creative and interesting way to write it. The lead (or first two paragraphs of the story; see Nut graph) must grab the reader's attention and yet accurately embody the ideas of the article. In the last half of the 20th Century the line between straight news reporting and feature writing has blurred. Journalists and publications today experiment with different approac...

The elements of journalism According to The Elements of Journalism, a book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, there are nine elements of journalism. In order for a journalist to fulfill their duty of providing the people with the information, they need to be free and self-governing. They must follow these guidelines:    1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.    2. Its first loyalty is to the citizens.    3. Its essence is discipline of verification.    4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.    5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.    6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.    7. It must strive to make the significant interesting, and relevant.    8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.    9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.   10. Its the rig...