Meaning & use
journalism
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The work of collecting, checking, and writing news for newspapers, websites, television, or radio.
Grammar: No plural and no 'a': say 'a career in journalism', not 'a journalism'.
Patterns
- work in journalism
- a career in journalism
- journalism about something
She studied journalism before joining a local newspaper.
Good journalism checks facts before publishing anything.
He spent thirty years in journalism, mostly as a foreign reporter.
noununcountable
The style of writing or reporting typical of news organizations, rather than of books or academic work.
Grammar: Used to talk about a way of writing; often with words like 'good', 'poor', or 'serious' in front.
Patterns
- good journalism
- serious journalism
- a piece of journalism
His article is a fine piece of investigative journalism.
The report was criticized for sloppy journalism and unnamed sources.
Common combinations
- investigative journalism
- Investigative journalism uncovered the misuse of public money.
- citizen journalism
- Citizen journalism spread the story online before any news crew arrived.
- a career in journalism
- She began a career in journalism at a small weekly paper.
- broadcast journalism
- Broadcast journalism demands clear, simple sentences for the ear.
- journalism standards
- The editor defended the paper's journalism standards.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reporting
- Focuses on the act of telling what happened; journalism also covers editing, ethics, and the profession as a whole.
- the press
- Refers to news organizations as a group, often in political contexts; journalism is the activity itself.
- news writing
- A narrower term for the writing part only, not the gathering and checking of facts.
Word family
- journalist noun
- A person who gathers and writes news.
- journalistic adjective
- Relating to journalism or its style, as in 'journalistic writing'.
- journal noun
- A serious magazine or newspaper, often for a profession; also a daily record.
Commonly confused: journalism or journal? journalism or media?
journalism vs journal
A journal is a publication or a personal record; journalism is the work of producing news.
journalism vs media
'The media' means all communication businesses together; journalism stresses reporting and editorial standards.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'journalism' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Journalism' is uncountable, so it takes no article and no plural: 'works in journalism' is right. 'A journalism', 'two journalisms', and 'Journalism are' all break that rule.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “journalism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.