Introduction: A Case for This Textbook
You are a busy person. Why should you waste time on this textbook?
You might think you have no choice since you have to take the class. That is valid. We all consume information in the name of learning that seems unnecessary. I hope this is not that class for you.
I have spent six months doing nothing but writing this book with the goal of improving your overall communication skills, whatever your final career path.
The main goal is writing. I want this book to help you become a better writer, period. But writing is built on other skills, including research, interviewing, ethics and media law.
This textbook will make you a better communicator. It will help you chat up a new friend or intelligently discuss the state of the media. It will give you critical-thinking skills to know whether some deal is too good to be true. It will help you select real news amid the misinformation and disinformation coming at you in flashy videos and screaming television analysts. It will help you consume valid information that can improve your life.
Here are more reasons why you should join me on this textbook journey. Thank you for your consideration.
Skills you’ll learn in this textbook
Even if you don’t pursue a career in journalism, this textbook will provide you with the following marketable skills.
- Law and ethics: Understanding media law and ethics will allow you to see whether the media you consume is following these standards. If they’re not, then you know the information is unreliable.
- Research: Learning how to research beyond Google will help you in school, work and life. Google can be a great research tool, but it does not always pull up the best or fact-based information. Your job as a journalist and a citizen is to check your facts and make sure you are not tricked into misinformation.
- Reporting: Journalism has a mantra that sums it up nicely — “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” What does that mean? You should question and verify everything, even something as reliable as a mother’s love. Maybe ask your dad. But in life, always verify what people tell you with a second or third source.
- Critical thinking: The ability to tell whether someone is lying to you is a gift. It can save you from making personal and professional mistakes. The ability to discern truth from fiction is a lifelong lesson. It’s best to learn it as early and often as possible.
- Writing: The ability to convey information to others in a simple and effective way is harder than most people think. If you can do that, you will be valuable to your future employer, whatever the field.
- Interviewing: I was a shy college student, and learning how to interview sources showed me how to talk to all kinds of people. The ability to chat with a cab driver or a college president is a life skill that will serve you well. It also reminds us that we all need to listen more than we talk.
- Newsworthiness: The measurement of what is and should be news is something that will help you make good decisions with the information you consume. Even if you can’t stop watching reality television, at least you will know why you like it so much.
