Elemental Journalism – 2019

In the fall of 2015, inspired by the 10 principles of journalism derived by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their influential book, The Elements of Journalism, journalism students at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota set out to create coordinated news sites, each connected to two of the 10 principles. This project was repeated in three subsequent years, and the results published on the Hamline journalism blog, Piper Realism. The work made it possible for students to see their work in relation to the work of others rather than simply as isolated news stories. They learned how thematic relation, placement, design, and shared purpose could result in an interconnected set of news products that were more engaging and more informative than their parts.

As we enter the fifth year of this experiment, we are going to build on past work by broadening our outlook. Following roundtable discussions of Elements of Journalism and issues drawn from current discussions in the field, we have identified a wide range of problems, issues, and developments that are transforming the face of journalism more quickly than perhaps any other time in the past century. Social and technological changes have disrupted not only the way that news is produced, but have drastically altered the way it is distributed and consumed. The line between the journalist and the public has blurred at the same time that the public has become increasingly distrustful of news media.

Working in teams, student journalists have chosen a common theme that addresses something important happening in journalism today. They have collaborated in planning, designing, and producing unique websites that feature clusters of stories that address, demonstrate, or embody the issues they have identified.

David Hudson
December 2019

Piper Realism