Most of the following books were authored, co-authored, or edited by staff from CCJ; our sister organization, The Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) [1]; or our university affiliate, the Missouri School of Journalism [2]. Others are just great journalism-related books...

[3]We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too [4]
--by Tom Rosenstiel, Marion Just, Todd Belt, Atiba Pertilla, Walter Dean, and Dante Chinni

We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings Too uses empirical evidence, social science analysis and actual ratings data to disprove much of the conventional wisdom about what works to win viewers in local TV news.

The work is based on five years of research of 154 stations in 50 markets – more than 33,000 stories, plus survey data of news professionals and workshop interviews with more than 2,000 TV journalists. The findings show that flashing lights, yellow police tape and “hook and hold” structure of most newscasts actually drive viewers away. So does the idea that only certain topics are interesting. Instead, the book shows that by telling stories better, with more balance, deeper sourcing, and more real information, newscasts have a undisputable record of winning in the marketplace. The problem is there just aren't enough of those kinds of stories.

[5]The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect
[6] Completely UPDATED and REVISED
--by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel

The Elements of Journalism delineates the core principles shared by journalists across media, even across cultures. These principles flow from the essential function news plays in people's lives. This new edition, published April 2007, is completely updated and revised and includes a new 10th principle--the rights and responsibilites of citizens--flowing from new power conveyed by technology to the citizen as a consumer and editor of their own news and information.

Lessons and ideas from The Elements of Journalism form the basis of CCJ's Traveling Curriculum [7] newsroom training program.

What Good is Journalism? How Reporters and Editors are Saving America's Way of Life [8]
-- edited by George Kennedy and Daryl Moen

"Journalism tells us most of what we know about the world beyond our own experience by going where its audience cannot or will not," says Kennedy. "It keeps watch on the government and other powerful institutions, exposes wrongdoing and injustice, and shares the endless fascinations of everyday life."

Through stories of real people, the chapters trace the development of free expression through American history and show how the principles of journalism that Americans take for granted are playing a revolutionary role in emerging democracies.

[9]Thinking Clearly: Cases in Journalist Decision-Making [10]
-- edited by Tom Rosenstiel and Amy Mitchell

Working with academic advisors and a team of long-time journalists, the Project for Excellence in Journalism created a case study curriculum for teaching journalistic process and practice. This unique journalism textbook offers students the opportunity to discuss eight case studies in decision-making — including: Watergate, online journalism, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, and the Columbine school shooting.

[11]Warp Speed: America in the Age of Mixed Media [12]
-- by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel

Rosenstiel and Kovach examine what they call the new Mixed Media Culture, in which the classic function of journalism to sort out a true and reliable account of the day's events is being undermined and displaced by the continuous news cycle, the growing power of sources over reporters, varying and inconsistent standards of journalism, and a fascination with inexpensive, polarizing argument. The authors explore the implications of these changes for the role of journalism as a cohesive element in our culture and as a forum for public debate and catalyst for problem solving.

[13]Breaking News: How the AP Has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else [14]
-- by Assorted Associated Press Reporters

The Associated Press throws open its archives and invites readers into its news bureaus and out into the field to witness first hand its reporting on presidents, elections, wars, civil rights, trials and crimes, disasters, business, and major sports events. The book conveys, through personal accounts, archival materials, interviews, and Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographs, how the AP became the world's largest news organization and how it continues to play a vital role in providing the news to the American and international press.

[15]United Press International: Covering the 20th Century [16]
-- by Richard M. Hartnett and Billy G. Ferguson

A history of United Press International's role in the brawling, bare knuckled, toe to toe fight with the Associated Press: the battles won and lost, the UPI people who fought them and finally the agonizing demise of United Press International in the last few years of the 20th Century.

[17]Picture This! The Inside Story and Classic Photos of UPI Newspictures [18]
-- by Gary Haynes

Written and compiled by a veteran United Press International photographer and editor, Picture This! tells the stories behind the stories—and how some of the most iconic and revealing news pictures of the late 20th century came to be.

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