Korzybski’s Basic Principles A Guided Look at Your Writing and Semantics Journalism I and II Source: Journalism Ethics by John C. Merrill

Background Information Semantics – The study of the meaning of linguistics and language Why is the study of semantics important for journalists? “Journalism ethics has to do with the responsible and knowledgeable use of language. We need, therefore, to look at how the words used by journalists affect thinking and how thinking affects actions.” From Journalism Ethics by John C. Merrill

The word is not the thing Can you label, with words, what this picture represents? If you called this a dog, you are labeling it but that label is NOT the animal. Don’t confuse a label with the actual object. Discuss with class the labels of freedom, justice, patriotism, and professionalism. Why is it so difficult to identify what those labels represent? Look through your story and find labels that you have used that could be misinterpreted.

Stay low on the abstraction ladder Using the example of the dog in the last slide, how else could you identify that object? Use Black Lab instead of dog Use Tobie instead of Black Lab Word choices should avoid being abstract and ambiguous Review your story for abstract terms that could be made more descriptive of the items you are identifying.

Make clear distinctions: reports, inferences, and judgments Report: scientific, based on observable data, and verifiable John Doe, age thirty-nine, was sentenced yesterday to ten years in prison. Inference: assumptions made from known data John Doe will soon be in prison. Judgments: conclusions made from inferences John Doe is an evil and dangerous person. Review your story and make sure you haven’t made any faulty inferences or judgments.

Recognize non-allness Identify the person in the picture with one label (NOTE: Insert a picture of someone all of the students would recognize.) After sharing labels, discuss the importance of such labels and how they make up all of their teacher. Would leaving any of those labels out change a story about me? Review your profile story and make sure you haven’t omitted any labels intentionally to bias the story.

Cheerleader-A is not Cheerleader-B There is danger in assuming that people carrying the same label are the same in characteristics. Be careful that you NEVER make assumptions based on nationality, race, religion, party, or other characteristics Review your own story again and check for any stereotyping that may have made its way into your article.

Multivalued orientation Tall- Short, Thin-Fat, Intelligent-Stupid, Slow-Fast These two-valued, either-or distinctions are not true to the society we live in and are too narrow for journalistic thinking and language Think instead of multiple values for distinctions and groupings of people. Look through your story and try to find any places where you may have identified your sources and objects in a either-or fashion and try to blur the distinction with language that doesn’t pigeonhole.

Beyond the “is” of identity The verb is could possibly be the most dangerous verb to use in journalism. It identifies everything and nothing at the same time. Peter is a man Peter is cold Review your story and try to replace all be verbs, including and especially “is”

Subjectivity of descriptive adjectives Using adjectives in journalism is a dangerous concept. Many times the adjective only gives insight into the journalist himself rather than the object being identified. They provide an understanding of what the reporter is seeing, smelling, etc. Be careful of using adjectives that describe your thoughts and feelings and not the actual event, object or person. Review your story for adjectives that are subjectively identifying your source.

Natural tendency to bias As an ethical journalist, you must recognize your natural tendency to be biased as you select the information for your story. “Ethical or fair journalists must force themselves to include information that is unpleasant to them and with which they disagree.” From Journalism Ethics by John C. Merrill Review your notes for your story and think about the items you omitted or chose not to include. Was your own bias involved in leaving that information out? Should you include any of that information?