The American Journalism Handbook: Concepts, Issues, and Skills - 1st Ed.
Rodrigo Zamith, Amherst, Massachusetts
Copyright Year:
Publisher: UMass Amherst
Language: English
Formats Available
Conditions of Use
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Reviews
This book does an excellent job of clearly, concisely, and comprehensively covering all aspects of news reporting. The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 is that the title indicates it's a journalism text, but it's actually a news reporting... read more
This book does an excellent job of clearly, concisely, and comprehensively covering all aspects of news reporting. The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 is that the title indicates it's a journalism text, but it's actually a news reporting text. Except for columns and op-eds, it doesn't mention basic journalism forms, such as features or sports reporting, focusing solely on hard news instead. For an introductory-level journalism course, I'd want a text to cover the major journalism genres so students get a clear overview of the field.
I was impressed by this text's unbiased, politically-neutral nature. It's nearly impossible to find a textbook, especially for journalism, that covers a topic thoroughly from multiple perspectives without being biased, politically-motivated, or activism-driven. This book offers true scholarship absent activism and indoctrination, unlike many I've seen that discuss the dangers of bias while simultaneously displaying it.
This text is very up-to-date and seems like it is written in a format that could continue to be updated fairly easily. That's crucial in a field like journalism that experiences significant changes almost annually. I also appreciate that the last chapter addresses the future of journalism.
This book is incredibly clear and concise without compromising comprehensiveness, even as it explains complex, abstract concepts.
The format was easy to navigate and the text easy to comprehend due to short (but complete) sections, everyday language, and definitions of jargon. Information is presented in a thoughtful, logical order.
It would be easy to use this book as the sole textbook or to select sections and pair them with other materials.
This book is one of the most organized and easy to navigate I've seen.
I didn't see any problems. The book was exceptionally easy to navigate and read on-screen.
I didn't see a single grammar or proofreading error.
This book uses a variety of examples that represent human diversity and illustrate the complexity of news reporting. I didn't see anything insensitive or potentially offensive. In fact, one of the things I liked best about it was its lack of bias and straightforward, respectful tone.
This book exceeded my expectations. I liked everything about with the small exception that, although the title indicates it is a journalism (rather than news) handbook, it doesn't cover some basic journalism genres. I plan to use portions of this in my introduction to journalism course.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- I. Conceptual Foundations
- II. Media Effects
- III. Influences on Journalistic Media
- IV. Journalism Economics
- V. Journalistic Audiences
- VI. History of U.S. Journalism
- VII. Journalism Law and Ethics
- VIII. Preparing a News Story
- IX. Sourcing and Verifying Information
- X. Creating Journalistic Content
- XI. Future of Journalism
Ancillary Material
Submit ancillary resourceAbout the Book
This book is designed to help us understand the many changes to U.S. journalism and imagine new futures for it – futures in which it can serve as an even more useful tool for promoting a well-functioning society. But, before we can imagine new futures, we must take a step back and examine the institution of U.S. journalism through a critical and in-depth lens. This book aims to offer just that. It provides a conceptual foundation for understanding the development, logic, and practice of journalism in the United States; describes some of the key challenges, tensions, and opportunities it has faced, is facing, and will likely face; and offers guidance to help individuals develop the skills needed engage in impactful journalism.
About the Contributors
Author
Rodrigo Zamith is an Associate Professor in the Journalism Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of journalism and technology, with a focus on the reconfiguration of journalism in a changing media environment and the development of digital research methods for social scientists.
Zamith’s research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including New Media & Society, the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and Digital Journalism. He has received multiple research awards from AEJMC, ICA, and other organizations. Zamith is a Faculty Associate of UMass’ Computational Social Science Institute and a Faculty Affiliate of its Department of Communication.
Zamith’s teaching includes both conceptually-oriented and skills-oriented courses, ranging from a broad overview of journalism to data-oriented journalistic practices. He is a former Lilly Teaching Fellow, recipient of UMass’ College Outstanding Teaching Award, and finalist for the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award.
Zamith holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota, an M.S. in Mass Communication from Florida International University, and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, he likes to exert himself on a tennis court, make odd gestures toward the television while watching Arsenal FC, and find reasons to end up on Stack Overflow.