THE HISTORY OF JOURNALISM
When elites spoke, journalists listened and recorded the
information, distilled it, and passed it on to the public for their consumption. The public is not
smart enough to understand complicated, political issues. Furthermore, the public was too
consumed with their daily lives to care about complex public policy. Therefore the public needed
someone to interpret the decisions or concerns of the elite to make the information plain and
simple.
Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel propose several guidelines for journalists in their book "The
Elements of Journalism". Because journalism's first loyalty is to the citizenry, journalists are
obliged to tell the truth and must serve as an independent monitor of powerful individuals and
institutions within society. The essence of journalism is to provide citizens with reliable
information through the discipline of verification, as well providing a forum for public criticism.
Professional and ethical standards
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