Good Journalism Principles

The good journalism principles are important core standard for journalists to ensure they are providing readers with credible and informative articles readers would want to know.  The article I chosen is about two Austin police officers who were caught on video making inappropriate remarks regarding sexually assaulted victims and what actions were taken to correct their behavior. 

After reviewing the article and comparing it to the 10 core principles of good journalism.  The article contains several different principles and some in which they could improve upon.  The first principle noticed is “what’s the story? What’s the point?”  According to Kershner (2012), “a reporter must be able to state the main point of the story in a simple declarative sentence. In most cases, this also will be the lead of the story.”  Joshua Fechter is able to provide readers with an easy introduction to the article.  Even the headline allowed readers to know what the article would be about.  Fechter allowed readers to discover the point of the story is the inappropriate behavior and how it was handled.  This also connects the obligation the reader, since it is important to know how authorizes will handle this situation.  The third principle, keeping on task is also seen.  Fechter remains on focus of his topic and only presents a few backstories of the two police officers.  According to Kershner (2012), “a good news story will include all the information the reader is likely to want to know.”  Fechter provided enough information to readers who would have concerns about the police officer behaviors and what actions were taken. 

Some areas of improvement are principle 7 in regards to never assume anything and principle 8: plan what you can and be prepared for change, and principle 5: how it will affect the readers.  The reason I believe these areas could use some improvement because there is no absolutes.  Even though the police were given what would be considered appropriate action, there appears to lack of how it will affect the readers.  If we are aware of the behavior does this impact how readers and others who would come to the officers for aid?  The video is a major source discovered on YouTube and presented as a case against the policers involved, yet is this the first time or has this been an ongoing behavioral issue?  There are still remaining questions surrounding the story, but Fechter did present has much information related to the story as possible.

References

Fechter, J. (2014, November 20). Austin cops suspended less than a week after joking about rape on dashcam video. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.chron.com/news/local/article/Texas-police-suspended-after-being-caught-on-5906766.php

Kershner, J. (2012). The elements of news writing (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.