"Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science."
The coverage of political events, activities, and issues in broadcast journalism. This includes learning about public policy, election campaigns and the role of the media in shaping public opinion.
Media law and ethics: Understanding the legal and ethical considerations that surround political journalism is essential for any aspiring journalist. Topics covered might include defamation, privacy, freedom of information, and press regulation.
Political systems and structure: This topic focuses on the workings of different political systems, including the roles of key institutions, such as parliaments, executives, and the judiciary.
Political parties and ideologies: Understanding political parties, their ideologies, and their policies is a key component of political journalism. Topics might include the differences between left- and right-wing politics, conservative and liberal ideologies, and the role of third parties.
Political communication: This topic covers how politicians communicate with the public, including press conferences, speeches, and interviews. It also covers the role of spin doctors, public relations professionals, and media advisors.
Political reporting: Understanding the basics of political reporting, including how to cover political events, write news articles, and develop unbiased and accurate stories is essential for any journalist.
Government policy: Knowledge of government policies at different levels (local, state, federal, global) is essential for accurate and incisive reporting.
Electoral politics: Understanding how elections are conducted, the role of the media, the electoral process, procedures and timelines, and the impact on governing, is crucial to a political journalist.
International politics: International relations, treaties, conflicts, social economic developmental policies – with knowledge of these, journalists can have a deeper understanding of the world politics and its impact on the locals.
Political history: Those studying political journalism should have a working knowledge of the history of politics, including major events of the past and their long-lasting implications.
Interviewing techniques: Asking good questions, active listening, building relationships with sources, and maintaining confidentiality while reporting are skills political journalists should hone.
Multimedia storytelling: Broadcast journalism is not only limited to writing; it includes video, podcasting, and other multimedia. So, training in producing and editing audiovisuals is necessary.
Understanding audience: The journalists must cater to a diverse audience of varying levels of politica knowledge. They should develop the skill to communicate complex issues in an interesting and digestible manner, without losing the accuracy and integrity of the reporting.
Investigative journalism: With the rise of social media, misinformation and propaganda are on the rise. Investigative journalism skills are necessary to uncover the truth behind these and deliver accurate, thought-provoking pieces.
Press relations: Building relationships with legislators and key personalities of the political world can help maintain the integrity of the journalist while delivering accurate reporting.
Analyzing data: Data visualization, understanding polls, surveys, statistics, and being able to interpret and analyze data might help the journalist provide accurate and fact-checked pieces.
Blogging and social media: With the rise of blogging and social media platforms, having knowledge on how to harness the power of the digital era to disseminate information is vital.
Ethics and principles of journalism: The basic principles of journalism, like accuracy, fairness, transparency, attribution, and impartiality, must be inculcated in their core principles.
Commentating: The commentator's role is to offer insight and perspectives on political matters that journalists haven't covered in the news. Hence, training in offering critical and analytical interpretation of events is essential for a political journalist.
Crisis Communication: In times of crisis, single false information can cause immense harm; learning to communicate and work cohesively with authorities is a critical skill for political journalists.
Legal protection: Oftentimes, journalists encounter situations that require utmost legal protection, especially when dealing with sensitive issues or sources. So, fundamental knowledge on legal protection is necessary.
Hard News: This type of political journalism is considered the most objective because it focuses on delivering the facts without any personal opinion or bias.
Investigative Journalism: This type of journalism is digging deep to uncover the truth about a particular political event. In some cases, investigative journalists do undercover work to get to the bottom of the news story.
Opinion Commentary: This type of political journalism expresses the writer's personal viewpoint or opinion on political issues or events. Opinion commentary is usually written by well-known journalists or experts in their field.
Infotainment: This type of political journalism combines traditional news reporting with entertainment. Infotainment programs are geared towards a younger audience and try to make politics more accessible and interesting.
Talk Radio: Talk radio is a type of political journalism where the host interviews politicians, pundits, and experts on various issues.
Satirical News: This type of political journalism is a humorous commentary on current events and politics. Satirical news is usually intended to be ironic or critical of the establishment.
Investigative Documentaries: Investigative documentaries are long-form journalism that takes a much deeper look at a particular issue. These documentaries can take months or even years to produce.
Social Media Journalism: Social media journalism is a growing trend that involves journalists reporting news through social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Photojournalism: Photojournalism is the use of images to tell a story. Political photojournalism documents political events, wars, and political conflict through images.
Podcasts: Political podcasts are audio programs that focus on political issues or events. Political podcasts are typically hosted by journalists or experts in their field.
"Political journalism aims to provide voters with the information to formulate their own opinion and participate in community, local or national matters that will affect them."
"According to Edward Morrissey in an opinion article from theweek.com, political journalism frequently includes opinion journalism."
"Brendan Nyhan and John M. Sides argue that 'Journalists who report on politics are frequently unfamiliar with political science research or question its relevance to their work.'"
"Journalists covering politics who are unfamiliar with information that would provide context to their stories can enable the story to take a different spin on what is being reported."
"Political journalism is provided through different mediums, in print, broadcast, or online reporting."
"Digital media use has increased and it provides instant coverage of campaigns, politics, event news, and an accessible platform for the candidate."
"Media outlets known for their political journalism like The New York Times and the Washington Post have increased their use of this medium as well."
"Printed, online, and broadcast political humor presented as entertainment has been used to provide updates on aspects of government status, political news, campaign, and election updates."
"According to Geoffrey Baym, the information provided may not be considered 'fake news' but the lines between entertainment and factual news may seem blurred or biased while providing political updates."
"This type of journalism is analyzed, interpreted, and discussed by news media pundits and editorialists."
"It can lack objectivity, which can prevent the accuracy of the presented information."
"The reporting of news with a biased viewpoint can also take away the audience's ability to form their own opinion or beliefs of what has been reported."
"The information provided includes facts, its perspective is subjective, and leans towards one viewpoint."
"This type of reporting is subjective with a possible social or political purpose."
"Political journalism aims to provide voters with the information to formulate their own opinion and participate in community, local or national matters that will affect them."
"Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science."
"Political journalism frequently includes opinion journalism."
"Digital media use has increased and it provides instant coverage of campaigns, politics, event news, and an accessible platform for the candidate."
"Printed, online, and broadcast political humor presented as entertainment has been used to provide updates on aspects of government status, political news, campaign, and election updates."