What is the ’100 articles’ project?
The articles
The students

The ’100 articles’ project

What should journalists read about journalism? Should we be influenced by musings about the relationship between blogging and journalism, or by some timeless advice from George Orwell?

In a joint project between upstart and students in La Trobe University’s  Master of Global Communications degree, we are collecting 100 articles that every journalist should read.

But we’re not going to be doing this on our own. In keeping with the spirit of the era of participatory media, this list is going to be generated in part as a conversation, and not simply delivered as some immutable verdict. So please feel free to join in by nominating and writing your own commentary about any articles that you believe should be essential reading for journalists.

A few ground rules. We’re focussing on articles - in whatever format – that you can link to. Each of your commentary pieces should be no more than 200 words long. And please tell us who you are and provide a preferred link if you feel so inclined. Submissions should be sent to contact@upstart.net.au , and you may want to consult our Notes for Contributors page before you get started.

If you want to follow the discussion on Twitter, we’ll be using the #100articles hashtag at www.twitter.com/upstartmagazine.

100 articles that every journalist should read

1. ‘And then they came for me…’ by Lasantha Wickrematunge (selected by Shashini Gamage)

2. ‘Why is sports journalism an oxymoron?’ by E.W Mason (selected by Evan Harding)

3. ‘Censorship’ by Karl Marx (selected by Sarah Green)

4. ‘The Preacher’ by George Gittoes (selected by Jane Hosking)

5. ‘The people formerly known as the audience’ by Jay Rosen (selected by Maike Winters)

6. ‘Losing the news: the future of the news that feeds democracy’ by Alex Jones (selected by Madeleine Barwick)

7. ‘The shot heard ’round the industry. Backpack journalism on the rise’ by Gail Shister (selected by Aiman S. Ahmad)

8. ‘The creed of objectivity killed the news’ by Chris Hedges (selected by Anamaria Krunes)

9. ‘Blog off, you still need journalism’ by Jason Whittacker (selected by James Briggs)

10. Mahatma Gandhi and Mass Media‘ by Prof. V. S. Gupta (selected by Jane Hosking)

11. ‘War or peace journalism? Asian newspaper coverage of conflicts’ by Seow Ting Lee and Crispin C. Maslog (selected by Shashini Gamage)

12. ‘Spears Naked, Hilton Nude, Lohan Panty-less Share Pulitzer Prize For Saving Journalism’ by Chris Hanson (selected by Kelly Theobald)

13. ‘Politico‘s Mike Allen: The man the White House wakes up to’ by Mark Leibovich (selected by BackPageLead editor, Ashley Browne)

14.‘A new journalist’s creed’ by Stephen J. A. Ward (selected by Sarah Green)

15. ‘How SEO is changing journalism’ by Shane Richmond (selected by James Briggs)

16. ‘Jim Cramer Daily Show interview in three parts’ (selected by Evan Harding)

17. ‘How to write about Africa’ by Binyavanga Wainaina (selected by Dutch journalist Jaap Meijers)

18. ‘Cheerleader or Watchdog’ editorial in the journal Nature (selected by Maike Winters)

19. ‘Decline of the Foreign Correspondent’ by Pamela Constable (selected by James Briggs)

20. ‘Shattered Glass’ by by Buzz Bissinger (selected by Jean Kemshal-Bell)

21. ‘Did it ever occur to you’ by Mimi Johnson (selected by Jean Kemshal-Bell)

22. ‘Ethics: Sticky Issues in Gumshoe Journalism’ by Laurence Zuckerman and  Naushad S. Mehta (selected by Jane Hosking)  

23. ‘Reporting Haiti: no sidelines in hell’ by Craig McMurtrie and Dan Sweetapple (selected by Evan Harding)

24. ‘2009 was a terrible year for free speech online’ by Clothilde Le Coz (selected by Shashini Gamage)

25. ‘Reuters Social Media Guidelines’ from the Reuters Handbook of Journalism (selected by Maike Winters)

26. ‘Haunted by details missing in the struggle for objectivity’ by Peter Ellingsen (selected by Kelly Theobald)

27. ‘Life after the pay wall: ignorance ain’t bliss after all’  by Simon Dumenco (selected by Jean Kemshal-Bell)

28. ‘Citizen Journalism: democracy or chaos?’ by Michael Buerk (selected by Jane Hosking)

29. ‘Freedom of the Press – 2010 survey’ published by Freedom House (selected by Jane Hosking)

30. ‘A trilogy of articles about Twitter’ by Julie Posetti (selected by Evan Harding)

31. ‘The journalist’s creed’ by Walter Williams (selected by Sarah Green)

32. ‘Now they tell us … Parts 1, 2 & 3′ by Michael Massing (selected by Jean Kemshal-Bell)

33. ‘Supermedia: the future as “networked journalism”‘ by Charlie Beckett (selected by Shashini Gamage) 

34. ‘How to save the news’ by James Fallows (selected by Lawrie Zion)

35. ‘Harry’s war: it’s just a blatant PR stunt’ by Peter Wilby (selected by Kellie Mayo)

36. ‘After three months, only 35 subscriptions for Newsday’s website’ by John Koblin (selected by Kellie Mayo)

37. ‘Outfoxed’ by Glen Greenwald (selected by Jean Kemshal-Bell)

38. ‘How the news media became irrelevant. And how social media can help’ by Michael Skoler (selected by Sarah Green)

39. ‘The Write Stuff’ by Les Carlyon (selected by journalist Rob Harris)

40. ‘The role of journalists in the freedom struggle’ by Clinton Fernandes (selected by Jane Hosking)

41. ‘How to report the news’ by Charlie Brooker (selected by Matt Smith)

The students

The ’100 articles’ project is a collaboration between upstart and students enrolled in ‘The Working Journalist’ subject. Click here to meet the class.