Thursday September 09, 2010

CCJ Books

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

Completely updated and revised
"The most important book on the relationship of journalism and democracy published in the last fifty years." – Roy Peter Clark, The Poynter Institute
We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too

Just Released
A landmark study on what people watch and why. The most exhaustive study ever of local TV news -- what helps ratings, what drives viewers away, and what editorial approaches and story-telling techniques most influence viewership.

On Anonymous Sources: The New York Times

Joe Lelyveld, Former Executive Editor - New York Times, July 29, 2006

Turning to an anonymous source can be a high-risk venture. Former Times Executive Editor Joe Lelyveld developed a simple two-question test before using one.

  1. How much direct knowledge does the anonymous source have of the event?

  2. What, if any, motive might the source have for misleading us, gilding the lilly, or hiding important facts that might alter our impression of the information?

Only after these questions were answered satisfactorily, would the Times go with the source. And then, to the maximum degree possible, the paper would suggest how the source was in a position to know the information they provided ("a source who has seen the document" for example) and what special interest that source might have ("a source inside the Independent Counsel's office, for example).

Journalist in Residence

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