Journalism Discourse Community: A Collection Of Differentials Between Subcategories

The question of what makes a writer a writer, has always lingered when it comes to discussions about certified and successful people in the journalism discourse community. It is a complicated matter, since the area of writing is too broad to describe with just a few sentences. Journalists categorize themselves within different subcategories, such as articles, broadcasting, or social media. Each of these entail separate skills and challenges, and in order to belong to a certain society, one must share these traits. This entails common interests, characteristics, audiences, language, and patterns. These are what make it possible to identify, and communicate, with other people within the same community. It is an impossible task to learn how to write within a community, without first acquiring the knowledge that is required about the community itself.

Most writers define themselves in line with their own stories. They picture themselves the way they want to appear. However, when it comes to journalism, their information is almost always depicted in a similar way. Disregarding the story, some journalist only appear on paper and in front of the camera, if they satisfy the readers/viewers’ needs. Therefore, discourse communities tend to target their audience depending on capabilities and interests of the readers, instead of their own. When focusing rather on audience than the self, journalist can form their information in the best possible, engaging manner.

As mentioned, there are several different subcategories of journalism. Each of these use specific techniques, in order to target particular audiences. The subcategories create small discourse communities of their own, all a little bit different from the other. The first good example of a discourse community of its own, is article writers, i.e. writers who publish within newspapers. There are different types of articles as well, depending on what audience is intended to be reached. For example, newspapers such as the New York Times or The Washington Post cover information about finance, economy, business, and serious events from other countries. The audience in this case is most likely working adults. In contrast to this, magazines such as The Cosmopolitan are trying to reach teenagers, focusing on more shallow material. For example; celebrities, gossip, and fitness. Every paper has a different purpose, which all depends on the sought out audience. Writing articles takes discipline, as well as consistency.

There are certain things that make a good article. In The 20 most important pointers to write better articles, Nichola Meyer states that you should always ”choose your point of view (POV), and stick to it throughout your article. The point of view you choose has a direct impact on the tone and style of your article.” Other things to consider are proper use of transitions, varying the sentence length, keeping to one specific idea in each paragraph, using logical flow, and always be a 100 percent accurate when it comes to your facts. Broadcasting is a second type of journalism discourse community. Compared to articles, it barely contains any writing at all. It is about sharing news from behind a camera screen. Just like articles, however, there are also different genres of broadcasting. There are newscasts, that share important information, and then there are things like podcasts, that focus on individual ideas and feelings. In the short YouTube video, “Broadcast Journalist's Discourse Community”, Brooke Selis is telling the reporter about the specific language they use on cast. Words such as vosot (voiceover), block (arrangement of program), and sat (satellite), are common on an everyday basis on set, but does not make sense to people from the outside.

However, there are of course some writing involved with radio and TV. There must be a short script of what is to be said by the anchor while airing, as well as ”readers”, that are short articles to be read without sound or video beforehand. Tony Rogers, How to Write Broadcast News Copy, urges the importance of that "broadcast copies must be as simple as possible. Remember, viewers aren't reading what you're writing, they're hearing it.” Also, in broadcasting, there is no time for unnecessary details. It must be kept simple, in order to make it understandable. Social Media might seem like a silly journalism subcategory, but is important nonetheless. When it comes to teenager in particular, this communication choice is what they prefer when sharing stories. Technology is not normally very connected to writing activities. However, blogs tend to be the strongest association to young adult’s thoughts and ideas. According to a study, made by the Pew Research Center, “bloggers are significantly more likely than non-bloggers to do short writing, journal writing, creative writing, write music or lyrics. In this sense, bloggers are even more prolific than social networking teens when it comes to the types of writing they do.” Just like any other journalism subcategory, bloggers also want to reach out to a specific audience. In order to do this, they have to first understand what is of highest demand. This can be very tricky sometimes, since people’s different likings vary greatly. However, as Linda Formichelli writes in Smart Bloggers, the simplest way is just to ask.

Most bloggers tend to conduct surveys. A correspondent is an on-site reporter. They deliver constant updates on ongoing events, which gives the public a chance to follow the news, and history in the making. Correspondents can work in the home field, as well as in a foreign country. While reporting from other countries, there is sometimes danger, which is a known risk that they’re taking. Most of the time, these countries are the once that need their stories told. There is a risk of being captured, or even killed. The Chicago Tribune tells the story of John Thompson, who bravely parachuted into battle during world War II, in North Africa, Sicily, and Algeria. ”Explaining a complicated, sometimes violent world requires that reporters and photographers experience war. For those few, there is no alternative than to get as close to the action as possible.”

Reporters without borders is probably the most famous correspondent organization in the world. They cover issues all over the world, and write/report about the most crucial incidents. Looking at their website barometer, it shows that as many as 157 journalists have been imprisoned, and 55 killed, in the year of 2018 alone. Sarah Amar, the interviewee for this paper, received her undergraduate in English at the University of Colorado, her master at Columbia, and then worked for some time in New York at the Gothamist. Recently, however, she moved to Turkey. You would probably believe that she is doing correspondent work, but she is staying far away from the war brewing close to the Syrian border. Instead, she focuses on freelance and fiction writing at the moment. As she tries to explain what the discourse community of writing means to her, she talks about the book Less, written by Andrew Sean Greer, which won the Pulitzer prize this year. She finds the book to be almost too entertaining to have won the Pulitzer, because it doesn’t particularly strike her has a serious academic book. She’s saying that these two things should not go together, but realizes that it is so deeply engraved in your head, that it actually works. We do judge books from their cover, and reinforce certain thoughts about what we consider to be proper writing, or not. Also, writers are so completely different depending on background and where they live etc. She mentions how in San Fransisco, writers are so supportive and kind to each other, and help to read each other’s books and commenting on others' work. While in New York, people read other writers reviews, rather than the actual book. She feels that criticism like that can be difficult to handle, because it separates you from the actual discourse community of writing.

All these subcategories of journalism, however separate they might be, have a few things in common that cannot be learned at work, or in school for that matter. As a journalist it is crucial to know that some aspects in life have to be given up, time being one of them. It is important to have commitment to what matters right at that moment, whether it is stressing a deadline or working miserable hours. Accuracy and speed are equally important. Once an article is due, it has to be in perfect condition. As a journalist you must be resourceful and be prepared to work with what is given to you, and it has to be fast. There are always difficult situations that are in need of a well thought solution. Journalism is unpredictable work, which creates a lot of issues for some writers. Though someone may prosper in school, it does not particularly mean that they are fit for the hectic life of deadlines. Even though there are some exceptions, there are certain rules and norms to follow when directing writing to a specific audience. Therefore, most journalists use the so called AP-style system. The Associated Press Stylebook is constantly upgraded and republished each spring. This book serves as an editing reference in classrooms, offices, and newsrooms all over the world. The particular style that is used follows a collection of guidelines, and is meant to simplify texts for the reader. This style is clear, and gives proper consistency when it comes to phrases and grammar.

As a reader, the important thing is to extract the most vital information. When considering the large number of publications within writing, consistency is therefore the key. Lastly, compared to fiction writing, journalistic writing should in most cases not be biased. When personal opinions and ideas get involved, the writing loses its credibility. Imagine if a journalist would hear a story about how the president just got shot. He or she can’t just blindly believe the information and thereafter share it with media, whiteout first double-checking the one source. Or even more important, comparing with other sources. That is why it is so extremely important to have proper, and reliable sources. In this paper, however, I did not have to choose non-biased sources. This is not a journalistic paper, but rather a paper that digs into personal ideas and comments. In the section about broadcasting, for example, the YouTube video (biased) was exactly what was needed to get a personal insight on the job site. Similarly, the interviewee for this paper, mostly states her own thoughts and ideas.

When talking about the writing discourse community, there are no hard facts about whether you are “in or out”. Different writers have various perspectives, and their opinions change when going into a new area of expertise. Communications between journalists is therefore very important, due to the fact that it helps the writer to grasp all aspects of his/her writing. As a journalist you have to be effective, and prepared for all information that might come in your way. With lacking communication, say between a columnist and the editor, there could be very bad consequences. There could be a miss on a deadline, lack of details, or deliverance of content that is not correct or relevant. In the article Tips For Better Communication Between Writers and Clients, Kevin O’Connor writes that “both writers and clients can be guilty of communication pitfalls.” Communication is two-way street. Amar shared that she mostly keeps her writing to herself now a days. At least until it is perfected to the point of publications. However, back when she attended Columbia University, there were several research pieces that had required peer-reviewing. To her this was an amazing learning opportunity, and phrased it as “life changing, and skill building. It is the hardest type of writing I have ever done, but it thought me academic professionalism.” Sharing you work with other writers, before sending the manuscript off to agents, can help a great deal when it comes to fear of rejection. Amar also emphasizes the importance of changing your environment as a writer, in order to gain new perspectives and views on certain matters. She admires writers than can just hammer out an article just like that, but that is not the reality for most writers. She thinks that as a writer you need your own toolbox of tricks, meaning you have to analyze the situation, and figure out what is the best way to get your mind going.

As I asked the final question about what had been her toughest challenge as a writer, her answer was very simple, ”Money and time”. However, she is happy about the path she chose. She has seen so many people succeed, but then later in life realize that they’re not doing something that they actually enjoy. Amar would rather struggle in the beginning of her life, if it meant that she could be happy in the long run. With certainty, this is a fact for almost all writers in the combined discourse community. Whether you write articles, work as an anchor, or a reporter, journalism is always a risk. However, this realization is what makes our community such a tight knit group. A group with passion for sharing what we see, hear, and feel.