Committee of Concerned Journalists

The following is an analysis of the Committee of Concerned Journalists website.

According to it's website, the Committee of Concerned Journalists is a group of, "journalists, publishers, owners and academics worried about the future of the profession." Created in 1997, CCJ focuses on creating discussion among those involved in the field of journalism and bring journalists back to the core values of the profession. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman are Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, authors of our text, "The Elements of Journalism."

Much of the website is devoted to research and commentary on certain aspects of the journalism profession. The articles I found on the site ranged from advice to critical analysis of journalists' stories. The site also acts as an aggregate for Today's Media News which primarily provides links to current articles about journalism. One article from today is about a journalist from Atlanta Progressive News who was fired for striving for objective reporting. The editor said the journalist's belief in objectivity did not fit with the publication. Other headlines cover other topics, such as ABC's 25% staff cutback. The headlines are pulled from the Pew Research Center's website. The Talking Journalism section covers hot topics in journalism today such as the use of social media, diversity in the newsroom and the importance of research before reporting your story.

The site also provides results of research studies conducted by multiple different organizations. The top link provides information on a study conducted by the Better Government Association and the National Freedom of Information Center on the responsiveness of state governments to Freedom of Information requests.

I found the site slightly confusing as I was navigating through the different tabs. There were items I found in places other than I originally expected to find them. For example, what I found in the tools tab was not what I anticipated. There are also menu lists that appeared and disappeared from section to section, as a result, I often found it difficult to return to a page I saw earlier.

The site is useful to journalists because it provides access to topics of interest in the journalism community in one place. Many of the articles cover discussion topics we are exposed to often in class, but upon entering the workforce, there will be little opportunity to discuss the issues facing journalists. CCJ's website is an easy way for journalists to stay up to date on what the hot topics are. This also ties into journalism innovation. The site provides commentary on new trends in journalism and which ones to avoid. There is more commentary and discussion than striving to create new ideas. In fact, it seems CCJ is more concerned with educating journalists on many of the classic values of journalism and encouraging them to rediscover those values while providing tips on how to improve journalism throughout the United States.

I give the site a four, because nobody is perfect. I would have liked a different organizational structure than the website currently has, because I found myself lost inside the site a few times. Overall, I think the information stored on the website is useful for journalists because it covers a lot of the major topics of discussion that we won't have regular access to after graduation.