Your first graded assignment of the semester is due next Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m. Please write a 500- to 800-word review of Kovach and Rosenstiel’s “The Elements of Journalism.” As the syllabus says, you should summarize what you think are the key points in the book. Tell us what you agree with, what you disagree with and what you think Kovach and Rosenstiel left out.
I would like you to write this in the form of a review that we might read in a newspaper or on a website. A review is different from academic report. You are providing a recommendation to your audience: Should they read this book or not? Thus you want to write it in a journalistic style, with a strong lede, rather than in the stilted language of a class paper. Try to write an enticing headline to go along with it.
If you are not familiar with how to write a book review, you will want to take a look at some good ones. We all subscribe to The Washington Post, so be sure to take a look at its book section. You’ll want to concentrate on the nonfiction reviews. The New York Times offers extensive book coverage, including a standalone Sunday Book Review. The Boston Globe publishes good-quality book reviews, too.
Please write it as a Microsoft Word document and send it to me by email.
Perspectives on Journalism Ethics 