journalism

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɜːn(ə)lɪzəm/ (UK); /ˈd͡ʒɝnl̩ˌɪzəm/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French journalisme (1781), from journal, a daily publication (see journal), and -isme, -ism.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The business of writing, editing or publishing a newspaper: 1791 in MWU, 1821 in Etymonline, 1833 in the OED;^[3][2][4] at first regarded as a French word in English.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In 1831 the New Monthly Magazine described journalism as letting people's opinions be exchanged without personal contact, so that they become one mass, breathing one spirit.^[2] A piece of journalese is from 1893,^[4] and the keeping of a journal is a rare sense of 1848.^[4] The material published in newspapers and broadcasts, and the press collectively, are further senses.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1781 – French journalisme.^[2]
• 1791 – in English.^[3]
• 1831 – in the New Monthly Magazine.^[2]
• 1893 – a piece of journalese.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The work or profession of collecting, writing and editing news for newspapers, magazines, radio or television.
2. Newspapers and magazines collectively; the press.
3. Writing for publication in the news media, or its characteristic style.

Word family

• photojournalism
• parajournalism
• checkbook journalism
• yellow journalism
• pack journalism
• New Journalism
• video journalism

Related words

• journal
• journalist
• journalese
• journey
• diurnal

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins