The History and Context of Journalism - An Overview

In our introductory lecture; course leader Chris Horrie was able to give us an overview of what we as Journalism students will expect from our History and Context of Journalism lectures and seminars.

Our main text is Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy and our main point of discussion was the philosophical rumination on what is believed and what is fact and the key differences between them. Learning to be journalists this is an extremely valid point as it is the facts that drive a journalist forward so we can never settle just for belief. An example was given of the huge losses incurred by the BBC when they ran a story which later turned out to be based on a belief and not fact. As a journalist in the earliest possible stages of their career; it will be important not to let my belief cloud my appreciation of the truth and solid fact.

We then watched a video on YouTube which was made all the more informative by the necessarily brief, (we did not have much time in the induction), but most definitely useful comments made by Chris Horrie. It was made clear that the Enlightenment and the Renaissance would be large topics of discussion in the course and that the importance of the printing press in the development of journalism was paramount. It gave man a new kind of immortality (a quote I regrettably have no source for, it may even have been a Chris Horrie original).

During the video we were introduced to many of the key thinkers who contributed not only to the subject of Philosophy but also to my own subject of Journalism. The first of these was Descartes, most famous probably for his "I think, therefore I am" quote. This introduced us also to the use of reason and in fact Descartes used his reasoning to prove in his mind that God exists. This quest for knowledge and more importantly the limitations of knowledge is a branch of philosophy often known as Epistemology.

Many of the later lectures in the course involve the early Journalists and the advancements in the technology needed. I have already spoken of the printing press and it is this which enabled people such as Joseph Addison who co-founded The Spectator in 1711. This is one of the earliest examples of Journalism as we know it today in the news sheet format. The Daily Courant is often thought to be the first regular daily newspaper; having been printed in 1702 (nine years before The Spectator), but upon doing some research a controversy appeared as The Norwich Post claimed to be printed in 1701.

Newton was also briefly discussed as his Newtonian laws are just as important in the world of Journalism as they are in the world of science. They apply to all things and at all times and it is interesting to see something so factual that could also be just a belief. The law of gravity for example is just something we take for granted; a force acts upon your mass because of the mass of the Earth which keeps your feet on the ground (literally) and the planets turning.

Daniel Defoe was the final historical figure featured in the video and the main point discussed was that he may have in fact been the very first British Journalist. If I'm honest with you, this makes him one of the most important characters that we will study on the course as it is his writing and his techniques that will have shaped the profession from it's earliest days.

The video ended with a quote from Jacob Bronowski from his best remembered work; the Television show, The Ascent of Man. It quite simply said: "Man is a singular creature. He has such gifts which make him unique among the animals, so that unlike them, he is not a figure in the landscape, he is the shape of the landscape". As a Journalism student, I hope to be able to take from the knowledge of these scholars and shape the landscape of Journalism.