MCM531 GDB 1 Solution and Discussion

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Community Journalism -----------------------------------------MCM531
Department of Mass Communication
Virtual University of Pakistan SEMESTER FALL 2019
ASSIGNMENT NO.1 MARKS: 15
Graded Assignment
DUE DATE: 22ND NOVEMBER, 2019
Assignment Questions

1. You have studied different characteristics and skills of a community journalist in lesson 02. Make a comparison of community journalist with that of a main stream media (TV & Newspaper) Journalist? What traits of a community journalist bring him closer to his readers and viewers?
   Marks: 10
2. A community journalist must keep his preconceived views aside while covering issues. What is meant by preconceived views? Explain with the help of an example
   Marks: 5
   Formatting guidelines
   • Use the font style “Times New Roman” and font size “12”.
   • Compose your document in MS-Word format. Any file created in any other version will not be accepted and marked zero.
   • Use black and blue font colors only.

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Assignment Solution:

1. You have studied different characteristics and skills of a community journalist in lesson 02. Make a comparison of community journalist with that of a main stream media (TV & Newspaper) Journalist? What traits of a community journalist bring him closer to his readers and viewers?
   Students must discuss the following characteristics of community journalism that are different from main stream media persons.

• Two most important qualities of community journalism are common sense and understanding people

• The effective community journalist holds his or her position in the public interest and by the public’s trust

• The community journalist cannot be the lapdog of special interests.

• The community journalist must be an active, not passive, journalist.

• Public listening is the first step in a journalist’s research of an issue

• The journalists are sympathetic to the community’s issues because the
  media see themselves as part of that community.

2. A community journalist must keep his preconceived views aside while covering issues. What is meant by preconceived views? Explain with the help of an example
   We all grow up with our own sets of experiences, values and ideas about how the world works or should work. Although we do not intentionally get locked into our own ways of thinking and perceiving, the filters we bring to any situation – including planning stories, choosing sources, interviewing and putting together the final package – may prevent us from seeing the world as others do. This may lead us to cover news in a way that others find biased. Eg. If a journalist thinks that illiterate people cannot do anything good to society then he might ignore the suggestions coming from an illiterate person of community.