What Makes Journalism “Excellent”? Criteria Identified by Judges in Two Leading Awards Programs

Abstract

What does "excellence" mean in journalism? The literature reveals no universally agreed set of standards, and awards guidelines are often unclear. We interviewed judges in two leading Canadian print journalism awards programs, using a sequence of open-ended and ranking questions to probe their criteria of excellence in a way calculated to elicit not just the standards they felt should be applied but the standards they actually did apply. Judges mentioned a wide variety of criteria, including the social importance and impact of works of journalism. But only two values were affirmed consistently: writing style and reporting rigour.Résumé : Comment définit-on un « excellent » journalisme ? Un parcours de la bibliographie à ce sujet révèle que les règlements relatifs aux prix décernés aux journalistes sont souvent vagues et qu'il n'y a pas de standards d'évaluation unanimement établis. Pour ce projet de recherche, nous avons interviewé des juges de deux programmes de remise des prix dans le domaine du journalisme écrit au Canada. Nous avons posé des questions ouvertes et des questions fermées dans le but de recueillir non seulement les critères qui devraient être appliqués, mais aussi ceux que les juges ont déjà appliqués dans leur pratique. Les juges ont mentionné un vaste éventail de critères, y compris l'impact social des oeuvres journalistiques. Toutefois, seulement deux valeurs se sont imposées invariablement : le style d'écriture et la rigueur du reportage.

Images of Essence: Journalists’ Discourse on the Professional “Discipline of Verification”

“…Although the criteria for quality journalism have traditionally been tacit, intuitive, and varied rather than codified or standardized (Ruellan, 2007;Schultz, 2007;Shapiro, 2010;Shapiro, Albanese & Doyle, 2006;Soloski, 1989), several studies have shown that, even across cultural and socio-demographic lines, journalists tend to share core professional values (Pritchard, Brewer & Sauvageau, 2005;Weaver & Wu, 1998). The trend toward a unified set of values has been associated with globalization (Hanitzsch, 2007) and professionalization (Deuze, 2005).…”

“…The trend toward a unified set of values has been associated with globalization (Hanitzsch, 2007) and professionalization (Deuze, 2005). And the single most frequently and clearly stated value expressed in journalists' self-identification is a drive for accuracy (Bogart, 2004;Cleghorn, 1990;Davies, 2008;Franklin, 2006;Gladney, Shapiro & Castaldo, 2007;Meyer, 2004;Shapiro et al, 2006). This focus on accuracy as a key identifying professional characteristic in turn requires that journalistic methodology be centred to some degree on verification.…”

Evaluating Journalism

“…Shapiro, Albanese and Doyle interviewed jurors in two journalism awards programs and produced ranked lists of criteria that included writing and storytelling technique and rigour in reporting among the jurors' consistently top-of-mind indicators, and, substantially behind those two: originality; public impact and benefit to society; insight; analysis; context; balance or fairness; independence and integrity; and transparency of method (Shapiro et al, 2006).…”

“…40, 44). Judges of journalism awards, too, have indicated that they rely partly or largely on indefinable factors in identifying excellence (Shapiro et al, 2006). Likewise, Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi and Damon, after interviewing reporters, editors, their audiences, scholars, and shareholders of media corporations, reported that while other professions had achieved a high degree of alignment between the generally accepted values of the profession and those of the culture in which they worked, the field of journalism was ''wracked with tension.''…”

Journalism awards as a site of contention in the field of journalism

“…A few exceptions include the following: an early study by Beam, Dunwoody, and Kosicki (1986) that investigates the relationship between award winning and job satisfaction; a study by Coulson (1989) that examines American editors' attitudes toward journalism awards; and a study by Shapiro, Albanese, and Doyle (2006) that focuses on the winning criteria identified by Canadian judges. A large set of questions remains: how is journalistic excellence defined through an awarding system that embodies or defies the political, cultural, socio-economic, and journalistic traditions?…”