1st Edition

Public Affairs Reporting Now News of, by and for the People

By George Killenberg Copyright 2008
    398 Pages
    by Routledge

    398 Pages
    by Routledge

    Everyday life, no whether the issues or events arise next-door or a continent away, raises questions and concerns that the public counts on journalists to answer and, more important, confront.

    More than ever before, we all rely on the news media for warnings, explanations and insights. The profession - and society - cannot afford lazy, inept, uncommitted journalists. Today's reporters must learn how to cover public affairs intelligently and thoroughly. First you must learn about the institutions and people who influence the news; understanding how a legislative conference committee functions or how a trial is conducted remain important pre-requisites. But it is not enough merely to know how to report. Journalists must also understand how they see, define and influence the news.

    Don't be fooled by the daily dose of fluffy stories about fads, fashions or fetishes. People love to revel in celebrity gossip or fantasize about extreme makeovers. But Donald Trump's love life or the South Beach Diet don't satisfy when people worry about a home invasion in their neighborhood or a rezoning proposal to bring a Wal-Mart super center to town or a Department of Education report that their child's school scored bottom-most in reading achievement.

    Public Affairs Reporting Now is intended to teach you the best practices and give you the best advice for covering what's generically known as "public affairs reporting.” It's a term that's neither inspiring nor precise, but it's long been a convenient way of describing the kind of news coverage that keeps people informed as citizens and keeps our institutions, public and private, focused on the public good.

    Chapter 1: The Roles and Realities of Reporting

    A Reporter's World

    Reporting as an Attitude

    The Competent Reporter (revised heading)
    Communication Literacy
    Cultural Literacy
    Technological Literacy

    Models for Journalism and Journalists
    Humanistic Reporting
    Anticipatory Reporting
    Explanatory Reporting

    Chapter 2: The Ways and Means of Reporting

    The Beat System

    Reporting as a Practice and Convention (new section)

    Methods of Reporting
    Observation
    Interviewing
    Documents and Data
    Social-Science Research
    Information Technology

    Chapter 3: To Err is Human - But Often Avoidable

    Warning: Potential Errors Ahead
    Interviewing Errors
    Seeing and Believing
    Counting on Numbers
    Out of Context
    Not Getting Fooled
    Exaggeration
    Shaping the News?
    Haste and Waste
    A Question of Taste
    Letting Ignorance Show
    Evaluating and Selection Information

    Telling the Whole Story

    Chapter 4: The Neighborhood Approach to Public Affairs Coverage

    Why Focus on the Neighborhood?

    Neighborhood Profile
    Getting to Know You
    Mapping and Reconnoitering
    Find a Guide

    Lessons and Leads from History

    Finding and Reporting on Neighborhood-based Stories

    Chapter 5: Closed Meetings, Seal Records and "Off Limits” Signs

    Access and the Right to Gather News

    Access to Governmental Meetings

    Access to Government Records
    Loopholes and Exemptions

    Access to the Judicial System
    Grand Juries
    Juvenile Cases
    Pretrial Proceedings
    Trials
    Restrictive Orders
    Court Records and Documents
    Civil Law and Access
    Contempt Power

    Dealing with "Off Limits” Signs

    New Battlegrounds over Access

    Fear of Talking

    Chapter 6: Government News for the People

    Covering the City and the Hall
    Functions and role of city government
    The Structure of City Government
    Who's Who in City Hall

    Covering Council Meetings
    Preparation
    What to Expect
    Legislative Process
    Writing Meeting Stories

    Financing City Government
    Revenue and Expenditures
    Borrowing
    The Budget-Making Process

    Cities and Land Use

    Covering Local Government
    County Government
    Township Government
    Regional Government
    Special Districts

    Covering State and Federal Government
    State Government
    Federal Government

    Chapter 7: Public Safety: Crimes to Corrections

    Crime and the News Media

    Behind the Badge

    Inside the Police Department
    Organization
    Hiring and Training
    Facilities and Equipment
    Communications and Intelligence
    Operating Policies

    Working with Police
    The Blotter
    Stories from the Police Beat
    Press-Police Relationships

    Danger Zones
    Arrests, Warrants and Rights
    Crime Statistics
    Bias and Labels
    Handle with Care

    Public-Safety Agencies
    Sheriff's Department
    State Police
    Federal Law Agencies
    Crime Laboratories
    Medical Examiners
    Fire Departments and Emergency Services
    Jails, Prisons and Penitentiaries

    Chapter 8: Into the Legal Maze

    The Judicial System: Structure and Process
    A Long, Winding Road
    Roots and Branches of Law
    Principles, Characteristics and Qualities

    Civil Cases
    Commencing a Civil Action
    Covering the Civil Courts

    Criminal Cases
    The Genesis of a Criminal Case
    Covering the Criminal Courts

    Chapter 9: The Trial and Thereafter

    The Big Show
    Stage Directions (new section)
    The Jury
    Opening Statements
    Evidence and Witnesses
    Closing Arguments
    The Decision

    Reporting Trials

    Verdicts, Judgments, Sentences and Appeals
    Understanding the Court's Words and Actions (new section)
    Sentencing
    Probation, Parole and Pardons
    Civic Verdicts and Judgments
    Appeals
    Finding, Reading and Explaining Court Decisions

    Chapter 10: Special Beats, New Challenges

    The Scientific World
    Medicine
    Scientific Research
    Health and Wellness
    Environment

    Education
    Education on the Local Level
    State and Federal Involvement
    Higher Education
    What's Wrong with Education - and What's Right?

    Religion, Values and Ethics (expanded heading)

    Diversity in Life and Viewpoint (new heading)
    The Homeless and Disadvantaged
    African-Americans
    Women
    Sexual Orientation
    People with Disabilities
    Older Citizens
    Children

    Business and Economic News
    Into the Business World
    Takeovers and Mergers
    Economic Indicators
    Labor

    Campaigns and Elections
    Politicians and the Press
    The Character of Campaigns
    Campaign Finance and Disclosure
    Election Coverage

    Chapter 11: Lessons in Law and Ethics

    Libel
    Elements of Libel
    Determining Fault: A Tough Call
    Defenses

    Private Lives vs. The Public's Business
    Intrusion
    Embarrassing Facts
    False Light

    Privacy and Libel Danger Zones

    Journalists and Their Sources
    Granting Anonymity: Risks and Rewards
    Reporting Rumors
    Dealing with Sources
    Quoting Sources

    Telling the Truth

    A Journalist's Creed

    Biography

    G. Michael Killenberg is professor and founding director of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at USF St. Petersburg, a Program of Distinction at the university. He joined USF in 1988 after 15 years at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, where he was director of graduate studies in mass communications. In his professional career, he has been a reporter and editor for weekly and daily newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. His publications have focused on media law, community reporting and ethics in news interviewing. He is the author of Public Affairs Reporting: Covering the News in the Information Age (1992), and co-author of Before the Story: Interviewing and Communication Skills for Journalists (1989); The Conversation of Journalism: Community, Communication and News (1994); and Interviewing: Speaking, Listening and Learning for Professional Life (1999). In 1998, he received the USF Professorial Excellence award.