1) Finding and Developing a Theme
The creative process begins with the definition of the topic. The more associative connections are stored in a journalist’s memory, the brighter, more interesting and richer will be the palette of topics offered to him by society itself. Already at the initial stage of creativity, one must critically evaluate the information available, determining the correlation of facts with the laws of the functioning of the world; not to draw conclusions not supported by data. Personal experience and acquired knowledge are the best helpers in this. And the main rule to remember and follow is that the journalist always looks for the root cause in everything.
The detailed selection of the necessary material, the selection of the most important, revealing material, allows us to formulate the theme and idea of the work. The word “theme” in translation from the Greek means – a situation about which one argues. It is a question highlighted by the author as the most important for the material being studied. And the word “idea” in Greek means – a concept, a representation. It is the main idea of the work, the expression of the author’s position.
In order not to make a mistake in choosing a topical theme, the journalist draws attention to the problems facing the individual or society as a whole today. The goal and objectives of journalistic research are then defined, the basic concepts are clarified and interpreted, a preliminary systematic analysis is conducted, and then working hypotheses are constructed.
2) Definition of the problem situation
So, the formation of a holistic concept that combines specific knowledge of the situation, understanding of its essence, its overall assessment, as an intensive thought work of the journalist, without a doubt, relies on a body of knowledge and skills, becomes an opportunity to manifest mastery.
In this sense, the definition of the problematic situation becomes the starting point of journalistic research. Identifying the conflict that arises and its significance for a larger audience makes it much easier to formulate the problem and choose the topic of the journalistic investigation. The journalist needs to identify both the nature of the conflict and its sources in order to correctly choose a topic and set a goal. The purpose of the research guides the end result, and the objectives formulate the questions that must be answered during the research itself. The area of conflict, its scope, will determine the significance and scope of the research undertaken by the journalist. It goes without saying that if there is more coverage of the participants in a conflict situation, the journalist will use a greater number of methods to gather information. This, in turn, is reflected in the choice of genre: informational, analytical, fiction and journalism.
3) Sources of obtaining information
The journalist sets specific research goals, i.e. he determines what he will study and in what sequence. And, of course, he or she first needs to identify the sources of the information he or she is looking for.
Working with sources is the most important stage in a journalist’s creative work. Sources can be official and personal documents, eyewitnesses to the event and competent persons, interested organizations, and even the media.
The journalist must have a strong sense of reality as a set of information sources. The ability to obtain primary, “live” information is one of the main indicators of a journalist’s professionalism. Society has an established understanding of the need to provide the press with informational support, and a fairly widespread network has developed for informing journalists about current events. The main elements of informing journalists include:
- briefings – short meetings at which media workers are briefed on the position of the meeting organizers on an issue;
- presentations – meetings of representatives of some government, public or private structures with the public, including the press, to introduce them to a new company, new products, new results of activities;
- press conferences – meetings of state and public figures, representatives of science, culture with journalists to inform them about current events or to answer their questions;
- press releases – special reports to the press on essential facts, prepared by the relevant press services
- specialized news bulletins on current events in a particular field of reality published by corporate news agencies;
- urgent faxes or e-mails from press-secretaries, press-services, press-centres of various departments and public associations, and sometimes direct reports from participants of events.