media and journalism personal statement

• Personal statement advice: media studies and journalism

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Be clear and focused

The best personal statements are those that really go for it. Not in an off-the-wall kind of way, but by revealing something unique about you or your academic ideas or practical experiences. This is no place to hide behind waffle.

There’s a wide span of media courses, ranging from the theoretical to the practical, and your statement should focus on the specific type of course you’ve chosen to apply for.

When it comes to media studies courses , start by being clear about the kind of degree you want to study. Do you want to analyse media, produce content, or a combination of both? Whichever it is, demonstrate that you’re focused about this. Outline why you want to study the course, and the knowledge, ideas, or practical experiences you will bring to it.Similarly, journalism personal statements need to set out why you want to study it, and how your knowledge and experience supports this – particularly in the case of professionally accredited journalism degrees . A vague, unsubstantiated ambition to be a journalist will not suffice.

• If you're still exploring your options, see our guide to studying media studies at university .
• Our guide to studying journalism reveals more information about what journalism at uni entails.

Practical journalism courses

If you’re applying for practical journalism courses , competition for places could be fierce. Here’s a selection of tips, courtesy of Bournemouth University, the University of Sheffield, and De Montfort University:

• State clearly why you want to study journalism, and explain that you know something about the work of the central figure in journalism – the reporter.
• Demonstrate creative writing ability, a good presentational style, accurate spelling, correct grammar, and a sound grasp of the English language.
• Read quality broadsheet newspapers and follow major developing news stories. Show you're aware of current affairs.
• Maybe explain what you noticed about how the reporting of a topical event differed depending on which publication you were reading, and the impact this may have had on shaping public perception.
• Show you understand the power the media has, and the importance of reporting facts clearly and concisely.
• Show that you can express your own opinions and thoughts, and know how to tell stories to different audiences.
• Demonstrate your interpersonal skills, persistence, and an ability to dig deep into a wide range of topics.

Work experience in your personal statement

For practical journalism courses, some (though not all) unis will insist on work experience.

• If you can, try to gain some work experience within a media environment , ideally in a newsroom of a local newspaper office. Free newspapers, local or hospital radio, or a TV newsroom could also give you insights into the reporter's job.
• What did you learn? What skills did you observe as being particularly important? How has the experience impacted on your motivation to further your studies in journalism? See our guide for how to make work experience count in your personal statement .
• Alternatively, are there any other settings where you've written for an audience, such as your own blog or your school newspaper? If so, what have you learned from this about working towards strict deadlines, or how writing pieces for an intended audience can alter the language and style you use?

If you’ve already had journalistic work published or broadcast, produced a blog, vlog, or podcast yourself, had a great reference from some relevant work experience; or anything else that may be relevant, consider sending them a link or clip separately.

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• Journalism Personal Statement Examples

Your Journalism personal statement is a crucial element of your UCAS application . It is your opportunity to showcase your passion for journalism, your relevant experiences, and your potential to succeed as a journalism student. Check our journalism personal statement examples for UCAS , which can inspire and guide you in writing your successful personal statement . 

Whether you are interested in broadcast journalism , print journalism , or digital and online journalism , these examples cover a range of topics and styles that can help you stand out to admissions tutors.

Journalism Personal Statement Example

As an A-level student in Business Studies, English Literature, and Religious Studies, I have always been passionate about education and learning. I have always been fascinated by the power of the written word and the impact that journalism can have on shaping public opinion and educating society. That is why I am so excited to pursue a career in journalism and continue to make a positive impact on society.

My interest in journalism was first sparked during work experience placements at my local newspaper, The South Wales Evening Post, and a local radio station. During my time at the newspaper, I was allowed to work with experienced journalists and editors, assisting them with research, conducting interviews, and writing articles for publication. This experience taught me the importance of accuracy, objectivity, and the need to present balanced viewpoints. Additionally, at the radio station, I learned about the power of broadcast media and how it can be used to reach a wider audience and engage with listeners on a more personal level.

As a great believer in education, I see the role of the journalist as an educating force, an incredibly important one. The media has a responsibility to inform the public about current affairs and provide accurate and unbiased reporting. Through my work experience, I have seen firsthand how the media can influence public opinion and shape perceptions of different issues. I believe that journalists have a responsibility to provide truthful and accurate reporting, whilst also highlighting important social issues and driving change.

Outside of my academic routine, I have several hobbies and interests that keep me grounded and motivated. One of my favourite pastimes is reading, particularly books that explore different cultures and perspectives. I also enjoy running, which I find helps me to clear my mind and think creatively. By engaging in these hobbies, I can maintain a balanced lifestyle and stay connected with the world around me.

Throughout my academic career, I have strived to excel in all of my studies. During my secondary school years, I was one of the best students in my class, achieving high grades in all subjects. This has given me a strong foundation and the skills necessary to succeed in a career in journalism. Additionally, I have travelled around the world and visited 56 countries so far. This has allowed me to gain a wider perspective on different cultures and societies, which I believe will be invaluable in my future career.

I am excited to continue my education and pursue a career in journalism. I believe that my passion for education, my experience in the media, and my diverse interests and hobbies make me an excellent candidate for this field. I am committed to using my skills and talents to make a positive impact on society, and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Recommended for further reading:

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Personal Statement Example For Journalism

I am driven by my passion for the English language and the power it holds to inform, engage and inspire people. With a deep-rooted affection for the written word and its ability to capture the essence of life, I have always been fascinated by how language has evolved. As a student of English Literature, History and Media Studies, I have been able to explore this evolution in detail and develop my unique voice as a writer.

Studying English has allowed me to think critically, analyse the techniques used by both fiction and non-fiction writers and express my ideas and opinions through a portfolio of work. Through this, I have learnt how to craft compelling narratives, convey complex ideas with clarity and precision, and engage readers through powerful storytelling. My studies in History and Media Studies have complemented my understanding of English, allowing me to appreciate the importance of context, perspective, and the role of media in shaping our understanding of the world around us.

Outside of academics, I am involved in many creative pursuits that allow me to develop my skills as a communicator and storyteller. I participate in a drama group, where I am honing my skills in characterisation, improvisation and public speaking. I am also working towards my Bronze Arts Award, which involves creating and performing a piece of original drama. Additionally, I enjoy playing the piano, which requires a large amount of patience, creativity and dedication – skills that I believe are essential for a successful journalist.

I am proud to have received Young Writers Award from my Secondary School, recognising my talent and dedication as a writer. These accolades have encouraged me to pursue a career in journalism, where I can use my skills to inform, educate and entertain readers on a wide range of topics. I am excited about the prospect of being able to tell stories that matter, whether it is through investigative journalism, features or opinion pieces.

My passion for the English language, combined with my academic pursuits and creative pursuits, have prepared me well for a career in journalism. I am eager to continue my journey as a writer and storyteller, and I believe that a degree in journalism will provide me with the knowledge, skills and experience needed to make a meaningful contribution to the world of media.

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Personal Statement: Applying for a Journalism/Media Degree

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A question I am frequently asked is what exactly you should write on your personal statement when applying for a journalism/media course. Putting together a great statement can be a pretty stressful task as it is difficult to gage what exactly universities are looking for. However, all graduates have been through it and there is no reason why you cannot secure a place on the course of your choosing. Here are some of my top tips on what exactly you should be writing:

Enthusiasm and passion

For me, I think this is the most crucial element to any application. Demonstrate just how passionate and enthused you are about the course. Perhaps pinpoint an element or a module that you are most excited about and why. Showing that you genuinely want to be studying that course always looks great and will put you in good stead with the admissions officer. Cardiff in particular has a fantastic student media department with its own newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV station. Make reference to these and emphasise how eager you are to get involved, maybe even mentioning that you aspire to be the editor-in-chief of the magazine, or a presenter on the radio station. Universities are always looking for people that want to get stuck in so convey this well.

Relevant experience

If you have done any kind of writing, editing, blogging etc. outside of school then absolutely put this in. This will show that you are not only able to use your initiative, but that you have the ability to work independently and have great time-management – all essential skills when studying at higher education. If you don’t already have a blog GET ONE. This is possibly the most simple and easy way to get journalism experience where you can write whatever you like, whenever you like, and wherever you like.

Even if you don’t directly have experiences like this, any part time jobs or qualifications you have will also be great for your statement as each will bring with them a useful set of skills for university.

A recent news story that has caught your interest

If you want to study journalism, you of course have to be up-to-date with all the latest happenings of the world. Writing a small paragraph on something in the news that has captured your attention and why will make your statement stand-out and show that you engage with the news. Don’t be afraid to have an opinion and articulate your feelings about something you feel strongly about.

Future goals

Why is it you want to study journalism/media? What do you hope to do with the degree you are applying for? Express that studying the course is a stepping stone for you to get into your dream career and that you truly believe the university will be able to support and facilitate that goal.

Finally, no human being is defined purely by work. Tell the admissions officer exactly who you are and show some personality. What is it you enjoy doing at the weekend? Do you have a hobby? No matter how common or unusual it is, put it in! If you play a sport then there is bound to be a society for that at Cardiff so let them know that you are desperate to get involved. You want to make it clear to the university that there is so much more to you than just academia, and that you will be an all-round great student to have study with them.

Thank you, this helped so much

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Digital Media Personal Statement Examples: Crafting Your Communication and Media Journey

Dirghayu Kaushik

30 August 2024

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• Introduction to Digital Media Personal Statements

Creating a compelling personal statement for digital media and communication courses is a pivotal step in your academic journey.

This comprehensive guide will provide insights into crafting a statement that resonates with your passion and aligns with the expectations of universities and colleges.

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• The Essence of a Personal Statement in Media and Communication

Understanding the Format of a Media Personal Statement

A personal statement in the field of media and communication is your chance to tell a story about who you are, your journey into the world of media, and why you are passionate about this field.

This narrative is not just about your academic achievements but also your personal experiences, skills, and aspirations.

Personal Statement Basics: Incorporating Passion and Professional Aspirations 

Your personal statement should begin by expressing your deep interest in the field of media and communication .

Talk about the moment you realized this was your calling – was it while watching a groundbreaking documentary, during a school media project, or while writing for the school newspaper? Use specific examples to illustrate your passion.

Next, delve into the experiences that have prepared you for a degree in this field. Have you participated in media-related extracurricular activities, internships, or projects?

Describe these experiences and how they have shaped your understanding and enthusiasm for media and communication . It’s also important to highlight your communication skills – whether it’s through writing, speaking, or visual storytelling.

Lastly, discuss your professional aspirations. How do you see this course helping you achieve your career goals?

Whether you aspire to be a journalist, a filmmaker, a PR professional, or any other role within the media sphere, make it clear how the course aligns with these aspirations.

Demonstrating Your Understanding of the Media Landscape

To make your personal statement stand out, it’s crucial to showcase your understanding of the current media landscape. This includes awareness of the challenges, trends, and technological advancements in the field.

Exploring Current Trends and Challenges in Media 

Begin by discussing the current trends in the media industry. Are you fascinated by the rise of digital journalism, the impact of social media on news dissemination, or the evolution of streaming services in entertainment?

Give examples of how these trends have influenced your decision to pursue a career in media.

Address the challenges facing the media industry today, such as the debate over fake news, the ethical considerations in journalism, or the challenges of content creation in an oversaturated digital world.

Show that you are not only aware of these challenges but also eager to contribute to finding solutions.

Additionally, discuss technological advancements in media. Whether it’s the use of AI in newsrooms, the rise of podcasting, or the impact of virtual reality in storytelling, demonstrate how your interest aligns with these technological shifts.

Personalizing Your Media Journey: Unique Experiences and Perspectives

Every individual has a unique journey into the world of media. In this section, discuss how your personal experiences have shaped your perspective and driven your interest in media and communication.

Sharing Your Unique Media-Related Experiences 

Reflect on any unique experiences you have had that are related to media and communication.

This could be an internship at a local newspaper, managing a social media campaign for a community event, producing a short film, or even running a blog or YouTube channel. Explain what these experiences taught you and how they have prepared you for further study in this field.

Discuss any challenges you have faced and overcome in your pursuit of media knowledge. Perhaps you had to balance schoolwork with managing a school radio station, or you had limited resources while creating a documentary.

These experiences show resilience and a commitment to your passion for media. It’s also essential to highlight any unique perspectives you bring to the table.

This could be related to your cultural background, life experiences, or an unusual approach to media that sets you apart. Universities value diversity in thought and experience, so don’t hesitate to share what makes your perspective unique.

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• The Role of Academic and Extracurricular Activities in Shaping Your Media Aspirations

While your personal statement should focus on your passion and experience in media, it’s also important to discuss how your academic and extracurricular activities have supported your aspirations.

Connecting Academic Achievements and Extracurriculars to Media Goals 

Discuss how your academic achievements have prepared you for a degree in media and communication . This could include relevant coursework, research projects, or any academic accolades related to media.

Explain how these achievements have provided you with a foundational understanding of the field. Extracurricular activities can also play a significant role in shaping your media aspirations.

Whether you were part of a school journalism club, a drama society, a debate team, or even a tech club, these experiences can illustrate your interest and skills in communication, storytelling, and media production.

Also, mention any leadership roles you’ve taken in these activities. Leadership experiences can demonstrate your ability to manage projects, work in teams, and communicate effectively – all essential skills in the media industry.

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• The Importance of Research and Preparation in Writing Your Personal Statement

Writing a compelling personal statement requires thorough research and preparation. This section should guide readers on how to approach the writing process effectively.

Tips for Researching and Preparing a Standout Media Personal Statement 

Crafting a standout media personal statement involves thorough research and careful preparation. Here are some key tips to help you create a compelling and effective statement:

• Research the media and communication courses you are interested in.
• Understand the specific focus areas, course structure, and unique opportunities each institution offers.
• Tailor your statement to reflect how your interests and goals align with the course and institution’s ethos.
• Reflect on what makes your journey into media unique – be it your experiences, perspective, or personal challenges.
• Think about how your background, culture, or personal interests have shaped your view of media and communication .
• List all relevant experiences, including education, work, internships, projects, and extracurricular activities.
• Include both formal and informal experiences that have contributed to your understanding and passion for media.
• Highlight skills that are crucial for a career in media, such as communication, creativity, technical skills, or critical thinking.
• Mention any relevant achievements, awards, or recognition you’ve received.
• Structure your personal statement as a story that reflects your journey, challenges, learning, and aspirations.
• Use a clear, engaging, and authentic tone to connect with your readers.
• Get feedback from teachers, mentors, or professionals in the media industry.
• Use their insights to refine and strengthen your statement.
• Demonstrate your understanding of the current trends, technological advancements, and challenges in the media world.
• Discuss how you plan to contribute to or evolve within this ever-changing industry.
• Articulate how the course will help you in your long-term career goals.
• Show that you have a clear vision of where you want to go in the field of media and communication .
• Carefully proofread your statement multiple times to eliminate any grammatical or spelling errors.
• Ensure that the flow of thoughts is coherent and that your statement makes a strong impact.
• While it’s important to be professional, ensure your personal statement reflects your true self.
• Avoid exaggerating or misrepresenting your experiences and qualifications.

Remember, your personal statement is an opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are beyond grades and test scores. It’s your voice in the application process, so make it count!

Utilizing Digital Media Personal Statement Examples as a Learning Tool

One of the best ways to understand what makes a successful personal statement is to study examples. This section should emphasize the importance of learning from others’ experiences.

Analyzing and Learning from Successful Media Personal Statement Examples 

Look for examples of successful digital media personal statements, which can often be found online through university websites, educational forums, or resources like Studential.com.

Analyze what makes these statements effective – notice how they structure their narrative, the way they articulate their passion , and how they connect their experiences to their media aspirations.

Identify the key elements that resonate with you and think about how you can incorporate similar strategies into your statement. However, it’s important to maintain your authenticity and not simply mimic another’s style or experiences.

Reflect on how these examples balance personal anecdotes with professional aspirations. A successful personal statement often strikes a balance between showcasing personality and demonstrating readiness for a career in media and communication .

Crafting a digital media personal statement is about narrating your unique journey and showcasing your passion for the field. Use these guidelines to create a statement that not only meets the academic requirements but also reflects your personal story and aspirations in the media world.

Remember, your personal statement is your chance to make a lasting impression – make it count.

Q1: Can I include humor in my digital media personal statement?

While a touch of humor can make your statement more engaging, be cautious. Ensure it’s appropriate and doesn’t distract from the seriousness of your aspirations and experiences.

Q2: How do I balance talking about my achievements without sounding boastful?

Focus on being factual and reflective. Discuss your achievements in the context of what they taught you or how they shaped your interest in media, rather than simply listing accolades.

Q3: Is it important to discuss specific media figures or works that inspire me?

Yes, mentioning media figures or works that inspire you can be a great way to show your engagement with the field. Just make sure to connect it back to your own experiences and aspirations.

Q4: How technical should I get in my personal statement?

It depends on the course you’re applying for. If it’s a technically oriented course, showing your understanding of technical aspects can be beneficial. However, don’t get so technical that it becomes inaccessible to non-specialist readers.

Q5: Should I mention my long-term career goals in the personal statement?

Yes, discussing your long-term career goals can help demonstrate your commitment and vision for your future in the media industry. Just ensure it’s aligned with the course you’re applying for.

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Table of Contents

• • Introduction to Digital Media Personal Statements
• • The Essence of a Personal Statement in Media and Communication
• • The Role of Academic and Extracurricular Activities in Shaping Your Media Aspirations
• • The Importance of Research and Preparation in Writing Your Personal Statement
• • Conclusion

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Journalism Personal Statement Example

Sample statement.

If you want to apply to study Journalism at university then it’s almost a given that you’re good at writing but all good writers suffer from writer’s block occasionally, right?

For those of you that are struggling with a personal statement to study Journalism – here is our example to help you out:

Having developed a passion for writing at an early age my writing skills have evolved over the years and I now feel that a career in journalism is right for me. However, I am not prepared to rest on my laurels and I am always striving to further develop my writing skills.

I enjoy the challenge of conveying a story, event, or thought to a reader in an interesting, engaging, and easily understood way. I write my own blog and look forward to expanding my topic range when I reach university.

To expand my knowledge and skills in journalism I undertook a work experience placement at my local newspaper, The Waterside Herald, whilst I was at school. This gave me the chance to develop my writing skills to suit a journalistic style and to gain an in-depth insight into the daily life of a journalist.

Outside of school I enjoy travelling and hope that my love of travel will enable me to gain experience working for publications in other countries during summer breaks from university.

I am also a keen sports player and regular runner. As well as my academic goals I also hope to complete the London Marathon next year, something that I have been training towards for a number of months.

I look forward to the new challenges that life at university will bring and having the chance to learn new skills and build on my already high standards of writing and communication.

I hope that by studying journalism to degree level I will be able to gain an entry level position at a national newspaper such as The Guardian or The Times. I am also interested in pursuing television journalism as a possible career choice whilst at university.

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SOP for Journalism: How to Write a Statement of Purpose for Journalism, Mass Communication, or Media Studies?

Do you have a background in communication sciences, social sciences, or literature? Do you aspire to pursue an MA/MSc in Journalism and Mass Communication or Media Studies abroad? Writing an effective SOP plays a crucial role in the initial steps of the application process for some of the top media schools like Amsterdam, Southern California, and LSE.

Media schools assess capabilities like critical thinking and creativity through writing samples, along with communication skills evident in your portfolios. Similarly, the capabilities of an appropriate candidate are highlighted through your statement of purpose for journalism.

But how do you write an effective statement of purpose for a mass communication program? Connect with Yocket Counsellors , and they will help you with everything that comes along the way! Get personalized assistance on your SOP, LOR, and application process and get it all sorted.

Read ahead to understand the intricate facets of a good SOP for journalism.

How to Draft an SOP for Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies?

To start writing your statement of purpose for a mass communication sample, brainstorm, free-write, and collect your thoughts. Your SOP should dive into relevant life experiences, academic and professional background (if applicable), career goals, co-curricular activities, volunteering/community involvement, and more. Get more information at Yocket’s SOP Builder.

So, refer to the effective guidelines given below to draft a stellar SOP for mass communication, journalism, and media studies programs:

Introduction

What motivated you to choose Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies as your interests? What is the strongest experience that led you to choose this field? For example, a community event in your neighborhood was misrepresented in the media, or a progressive children’s campaign against abuse did not get any coverage in your national media. Depict how this formative experience provoked a thought for you and eventually translated into your passion for Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies.

• Begin your introduction with an attention-grabbing experience that is evocative of your journey into the field.
• Alternatively, you can also begin with a research problem statement that you consider exploring in your future Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies programs.
• This is because some programs directly seek an SOP for mass communication that is more of a research proposal than it is otherwise.

Second Paragraph

Building on the onset of interest in Journalism, Mass Communications, and Media Studies, discuss relevant academic and life experiences that have augmented this interest. How has each of these experiences impacted your thought process, streamlined it, or transformed it?

• Here, you can discuss relevant undergraduate experiences or courses in which you developed a particular interest.
• For example, you must have developed Journalism, Mass Communications, Media Studies, or Media Psychology.
• Touch upon a few course specifics and how these led you to develop your portfolio and inspired to work on projects relevant to these interests.
• You can discuss interesting projects you have worked on or relevant co-curricular experiences worth sharing. Make sure that your experiences align with your interest in the Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies program you’re applying for.

Third Paragraph

Have you faced any setbacks in your academics? You can mention that if you just made the cut or have fewer scores.

• Have you faced any other unique challenges or setbacks that have redefined your perspectives or interests?
• How did you overcome these challenges, and what is/are the positive outcomes of these experiences?
• It’s essential to reflect on the lessons from these experiences to underscore your resilience. To learn more about how to make your SOP stand out, schedule a free consultation call with Yocket’s experts. 

Fourth Paragraph

You can discuss extracurriculars in this paragraph. Remember that universities are interested in learning more than just academics. So, go ahead and speak about your hobbies, social work, volunteering, etc. here. You can also discuss workshops or certifications that you have taken to upgrade your skills.

Fifth Paragraph

If you have work experience, add it here. If you do not have work experience, you can also discuss your internship experiences, reflecting on your specific learnings and take-aways. Identify a knowledge gap or the need for you to go for an MA/MSc in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies.

• How has the work experience/s influenced your career goals? Why do you wish to go for an MA/MSc in Journalism now?
• Define your short-term and long-term goals.
• How will the MA/MSc program in journalism or mass media from a specific design school help you achieve these goals?
• How does the program align with your areas of interest?

Your conclusion for a statement of purpose in mass communication or journalism needs to be equally engaging as your introduction.

• What capabilities do you have to contribute to the university?
• How can you be an asset to the university?
• What activities, clubs, sports, student associations, groups, etc, piqued your interest?
• What diverse experiences do you bring to your future graduate community?

Do’s and Don'ts of an SOP for Journalism, Mass Communication, and Media Studies

Your statement of purpose should be truthful, concise, engaging, and well-written. Remember that every experience that you present should be coherent and well-connected. This leaves no space for grey areas. Follow these dos and don'ts in the statement of purpose for the journalism sample.

Suggested: Common Mistakes in Writing SOPs and Application Essay

Skills to Include in Your SOP for Mass Communication, Journalism, and Media Studies

Your statement of purpose for a journalism sample should be in-depth and research-intensive. Journalism, communications, or media studies is a creative and fascinating field of study. From information design, campaign graphics, and digital entrepreneurship to filming, news production, and academia, the career opportunities are diverse.

Therefore, an SOP for journalism should portray these skills to make it unique and more appealing than the rest. Let’s check!

• Investigative Skills
• Through Knowledge
• Communication Skills
• Professionalism and Confidence
• Research Aptitude
• Academic/Research Writing Skills
• Knowledge of Platform Specialisation applying for (television, digital, print, and so on)
• Relevant Technologies/Software
• Experiential Mindset
• Critical Thinking
• Problem-solving

Suggested: Remove Your SOP Writing Fever!

SOP Requirements of Top Universities for Journalism, Mass Communications, and Media Studies

Most universities have a similar statement of purpose mass communication requirements as part of their respective applications. We’ve shortlisted a few top universities for MA/MSc in Journalism, Mass Communications, or Media Studies with their requirements.

1.  University of Amsterdam

If you are applying for an MA in Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam , follow these guidelines:

• What are your reasons for applying to the course?
• How will you contribute to your future classes and beyond?
• A succinct narrative of your background with emphasis on clearly defined academic and career goals.
• The SOP should focus on ideas rather than extensive background/personal information and should be forward-thinking in vision.
• Evidence of motivation for the proposed area of study.
• Applications to specializations within Media have specific prompts that need to be addressed in the SOP.

2.  London School of Economic and Political Science

The London School of Economic and Political Science requires a personal statement as part of an MSc in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies.

• The personal statement should be 500 words.
• Elucidate your reasons for applying to the program and the university.
• What is your current creative practice or your Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies career, and how will this help you achieve your future career goals?
• If you cannot substantiate formal educational background or qualifications to apply to the program, describe relevant academic and professional experiences underscoring motivation to apply to the chosen Journalism, Communications, or Media Studies program.

3.  University of Southern California

The University of Southern California requires an SOP of 500 to 750 words in length. This statement should demonstrate the following aspects:

• Your interest in applying to the chosen program
• Clearly defined goals (in the program and after the program)
• What are the expected outcomes of the program, and how do these align with or help achieve your career aspirations?

Apart from these general instructions, SOPs for different specializations have unique requirements and different word limits.

From the Desk of Yocket

However, the SOP writing style for most countries remains the same. But in the case of a program-specific statement of purpose for Journalism/Mass Communication/Media Studies, you can re-engineer the original draft to suit the University/program requirements.

We understand that writing an SOP can be daunting. But don’t worry, Yocket is here to help you comprehend the nuances of an actionable SOP in terms of the format and guidelines. Therefore, choose Yocket Premium and bring your educational dream to life. Our counsellors are transparent with the rules, cooperative, and provide unique services. Become a Yocketeer and make your study abroad journey a hassle-free ride!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the accepted word count for an MA/MSc in Journalism, Communication, and Media Studies SOP?

Keep the length of the SOP for journalism within 800-1000 words. However, universities abroad have word counts defined as part of the online applications.

What can lead a statement of purpose for mass communication to be rejected right away?

Plagiarism and poor syntax can get your SOP for mass communication rejected.

What is the best writing style for a Journalism and Mass Communication or Media Studies SOP?

Conversational writing keeps the narrative engaging. So, write your SOP effectively maintaining a positive tone.

How many SOPs to write for Journalism and Mass Communication or Media Studies?

Each university requires a separate and original SOP. Hence, you need to write a different statement of purpose for the mass communication sample for every university applying to. Along with SOP, Universities require program-specific writing samples as part of applications.

How to save and submit your SOP for mass communication and journalism?

SOPs have to be uploaded in PDF as part of the applications. This makes your SOP look professional and eliminates the possibility of any formatting inconsistencies. Universities may also provide forms to paste contents of SOP as part of applications with or without the option to upload it.

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Journalism Option - Communication BS

Journalism Option Communication BS

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In RIT’s journalism option, you’ll master the skills to successfully interview, investigate, write, edit, report, and publish news and featured stories across a range of digital media.

Overview for Journalism Option - Communication BS

Why pursue the journalism option at rit.

• Gain Real-World Experience: A required block of cooperative education means hands-on, full-time paid work experience in the industry.
• Dynamic Courses: Gain a deep understanding of news writing, news editing, multi-platform journalism, communication theory, mass communications, law and press ethics, and computer-assisted reporting.
• Exciting Capstone Learning Experience: Put your knowledge to work by producing a long-form piece of journalism, a website, and a digital portfolio of selected works.

The journalism option primes you to collect, critically assess, and merge both verbal and visual data to effectively communicate news stories across diverse media channels. Beyond writing and reporting, you'll craft audio and visual content for dissemination across various platforms, positioning you as a skilled and valuable asset for future employers specializing in news reporting and factual narration. This option is part of the communication BS degree

RIT's journalism option benefits from the university's renowned focus on cutting-edge technology while centering on the foundational reporting and writing proficiencies essential for professional journalists. The option prepares you for the dynamic landscape of digital media, where you'll acquire both conceptual understanding and practical expertise essential for success in digital newsrooms. Through a blend of journalism, communication, and relevant professional course work, you'll develop the skills necessary to thrive in the digital media landscape

In RIT's journalism option of the communication degree, you are required to complete one block of cooperative education experience.

Journalism Course Work

You will develop skills through a core of required journalism courses, which cover news writing, news editing, multi-platform journalism, communication theory, mass communications, law and press ethics, and computer-assisted reporting. A professional core of four courses, chosen from RIT’s colleges of Art and Design , Business , or Computing and Information Sciences , introduces you to photojournalism, multimedia, web development, digital entrepreneurship, and building a web business. Journalism electives, free electives, and liberal arts courses complete the curriculum.

Senior Capstone Project

Put your learning to work in a senior capstone project that serves as a culmination of your journalism education. You will produce a project relevant to the journalism industry, such as a long-form piece of journalism, a website, and a digital portfolio of selected works that you created throughout your courses, co-ops, and activities at RIT.

Meet us on campus

Learn about academics, co-op and internships, financial aid, and more.

Get details and register for an open house

Careers and Cooperative Education

Cooperative education.

What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries.

Co-ops take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. A liberal arts co-op provides hands-on experience that enables you to apply your knowledge in professional settings while you make valuable connections between course work and real-world applications.

You’ll complete one required co-op in the journalism field as part of your degree. Journalism students have completed co-ops at a range of news organizations, companies and not-for-profits where their skills in journalism help tell important stories to wide audiences.

Curriculum for 2024-2025 for Journalism Option - Communication BS

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

Communication (journalism option), BS degree, typical course sequence

Please see General Education Curriculum (GE) for more information.

(WI-PR) Refers to a writing intensive course within the major.

* Please see Wellness Education Requirement for more information. Students completing bachelor's degrees are required to complete two different Wellness courses.

† Professional core may be fulfilled by selecting a 300-level (or higher) course from a discipline outside the liberal arts.

‡ Students will satisfy this requirement by taking either a 3- or 4-credit hour lab science course. If a science course consists of separate lecture and laboratory sections, the student must take both the lecture and lab portions to satisfy the requirement.

Journalism Option Courses

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• 27 August 2024

The limits of Western media ethics

This was not how I thought about journalism.

Filmmaker and journalist studying science, health, and environmental reporting at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University. She is the producer of the short film “Margaret”

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When I started out as a news assistant in 2010 at a local radio station in my hometown of Yola in northeastern Nigeria, I was determined to make a difference and to give voice to the voiceless.

I was interested in telling stories about women and girls suffering domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, forced marriages, and financial deprivation. The male-centric way these stories were covered by the Nigerian media angered me. Not only were the reporters and editors mostly men, but – for cultural and religious reasons – many of the women and girls I wanted to interview needed the permission of their husbands or senior male members of the family to speak to journalists. 

And even where such permission was forthcoming, there was no guarantee the women and girls could be interviewed alone. They might be accompanied by minders – usually their husbands, brothers, or other male members of the family – making it hard and sometimes impossible for them to express themselves freely. 

At the time, I had to navigate these challenges with no formal training. However, I am now in a graduate programme in journalism at New York University, learning about the ethical standards of the profession and being introduced to ideas such as creating and maintaining distance between myself and my sources, and being open and transparent about who I am and how I intend to use the information I collect.

The more I learnt about journalism ethics from the American point of view, the more I wondered about the ethical validity of the methods I had used in Nigeria, where, especially as a female journalist, hiding your true identity is often necessary. 

However, as I sit through conversations with my professors and classmates, I have come to believe that the realities of covering culturally different societies on the other side of the world are not always accounted for by ethical codes based on Western standards. In my opinion, those realities should be at the centre of such discussions.

The more I learnt about journalism ethics from the American point of view, the more I wondered about the ethical validity of the methods I had used in Nigeria, where, especially as a female journalist, hiding your true identity is often necessary. It is difficult to navigate through assignments successfully without being harassed and exploited, including sometimes by the families of the sources whose stories you intend to tell. 

In addition, assignments in conflict areas can mean putting yourself in vulnerable situations. You feel naked and extremely exposed, like a tuber of yam that a sharp knife could easily pierce.

I often hid my professional identity from the male relatives of the women I wanted to interview, and either visited when the husband was at work or met with the women at the local market when they went shopping. 

These were usually women who were suffering domestic abuse, or pregnant women whose husbands didn’t believe in ante-natal care during pregnancy. 

Today, reading about the ethical requirement for journalists to keep a distance from their sources, I perceive a conflict between my role as a journalist and as a human being; between my personal feelings and the rules of the profession.

What actually constitutes right or wrong?

Last year, I was producing a short film in Kebbi State, in northwest Nigeria. It was the story of Margaret, an 11-year-old girl who had been trafficked by her uncle to the city of Jos, 300 miles away, to work as domestic staff. After about 24 months in service, Margaret was tortured and burnt to death by her employer. 

I read about Margaret's death in a newspaper article, which contained no details about who the little girl was. After much digging, I found out that she was originally from a small village called Ribbah. It was 14 hours by bus from Abuja, the Nigerian capital, through three bandit-ravaged states – Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara – but I grabbed my camera and went to find her relatives. 

In Ribbah, I met Margaret’s 29-year-old mother, Deborah, who was still taking care of her three younger children. She looked tired, pale, and sad but her eyes lit up when I told her why I was in her village. She was willing and anxious to speak to me about Margaret. 

She gently explained how Margaret was taken away, and how she was denied access to speak to her child for two years. Despite persistent begging, she was told that women in her culture are not allowed to question the decisions of the male members of the family. It was taboo and bad luck, and nobody messed with that. 

From my brief first chat with Deborah, I realised that her husband’s family had kept from her the circumstances that had led to her daughter's death.

Before I could interview Deborah further, I had to spend a day meeting with all the male members of the family to explain to them the nature of my project and my process. They also wanted me to tell them whatever I learned from Deborah, but I knew telling them everything would shut me off from my source. Eventually I earned the men’s trust, even though I wasn’t completely honest with them. 

With their permission, and after agreeing to have a minder assigned to me throughout the reporting trip, I began filming and interviewing. But often the minder, Deborah’s brother-in-law Philip, would stop us and tell Deborah not to answer some of my questions, which were considered too sensitive or revealing. 

Part of the process was a trip to Jos, the city where Margaret was taken in 2022. I intended to film Deborah speaking with people who had met and helped her daughter during her last moments. Four of us -- Deborah, Philip, my videographer Solomon, and me – made the trip, but I booked three rooms, opting to share one with Deborah and the baby she was carrying.

Sleeping in the same room with Deborah was the only chance I had to speak with her alone and to hear her speak freely. At 2am, when Philip was fast asleep in his comfortable hotel bed, I woke up Solomon and set her up for an interview. Free of her minder, Deborah was completely honest. She broke down in tears for the first time during that interview as she spoke of the feelings she was hiding from her family: her fear of being questioned for crying over the dead child or for not believing in God. 

Earlier, Philip had warned me never to show Deborah the gory pictures of her daughter’s tortured body, which had already been circulated on the websites of Nigerian newspapers. It was these images that had given me sleepless nights and pushed me out of my home to seek out Deborah. While I respected the family’s injunction, she had been shown the horrifying photographs when I took her to the prosecutor dealing with Margaret’s case, and she reflected on this during the interview. 

How does one ignore the reality of these people in my home country, and reduce the profession to one that only extracts information? 

I cried with her, but I was happy she was able to express herself freely and say things that would have been impossible for her to speak about in a different setting. At the end of the interview, she told me about a plan by the family to take her seven-year-old son, Jerry, to work for a man she didn’t know. Deborah had no objection because of the difficulties of her life. She was sharing a single tiny bedroom with her three children, her husband, and her mother in-law, and had no way to pay for Jerry’s food and school fees. 

She couldn’t stop the family taking Jerry away, and neither could I. But what I could do was empower Deborah financially, and I took that option. A few weeks after I interviewed her, I gave her 150,000 naira, equivalent to $150, to buy a sewing machine and enrol in a tailoring training programme in her village. 

My NYU education tells me that ethical journalists must never pay their sources. But how does one ignore the reality of these people in my home country, and reduce the profession to one that only extracts information? When I read American textbooks and articles about how journalists are expected to be with their subjects, I question both myself and the ethical framing of such issues. At the same time, I don’t want to be unprofessional or a cheat.

Personal experiences that motivate me

Why did I become a journalist? I could have considered becoming a teacher, a generally acceptable profession for women in my community, but I never heard any of my teachers speak out against the abuse of women and girls. Even when their students dropped out of school to be married to older men, the teachers never saw anything wrong with that. In some situations, they attended the wedding, ate the jollof rice, and accepted the traditional bride price offerings of salt, kola nut, candy, and dates as gifts. 

Journalism seemed to be the perfect fit for me. My reporting has changed and influenced local laws in my community, in Adamawa State, and made women realise that they could report their abusive husbands to the authorities.

Being a journalist in Nigeria can be dangerous in ways that my NYU classmates and professors probably have not imagined.

My viewers also learned, from my reporting, that there is treatment for vesicovaginal fistula (VVF), which was common among young women in some of the villages in Adamawa. I gained confidence and belief in my work from a doctor I had interviewed, Francis Asogwa, who was working in a local clinic in Yola. He called one afternoon in 2013 to say that some people told him they brought their daughters to his hospital for VVF treatment specifically because they had heard about him in a story I had reported. 

Hearing how journalism has empowered women, including myself, to speak out in the face of aggression and repression has been therapeutic. The time and resources I invested in my work have shaped my life and I’m super grateful. 

But being a journalist in Nigeria can be dangerous in ways that my NYU classmates and professors probably have not imagined.

Sitting in my ethics class made me recall an incident from 2013 when I was covering local government workers protesting six months of non-payment of salaries. The protesters, mostly women, removed their clothes to show sagging skin on their stomachs and visible ribs from hunger. They blocked the entrance and exit gates of the government office building, and stopped the chairman of the local authority leaving. For a radio story, I interviewed some of the protesters, but could not include comments from the chairman because he was locked up in his office. 

The day after the story ran, my boss received a phone call from the chairman expressing his dissatisfaction with the way it was told and requesting a chance to give his side. He was upset that I had also reported that most of the protesters who had locked him up were women, which made it especially embarrassing. 

I was assigned to go and interview him. The moment I walked into his office, he locked me inside, shut off the lights, and left with the keys. I was in the darkness for three hours before he finally let me out. He never granted the interview. Nothing else happened; it was the end of that chapter.

What I thought journalism was all about 

This was not how I thought about journalism. To my mind, journalists are social advocates and selfless people. The work of a journalist should be unique, fulfilling, and gratifying at the same time. 

Finding victims and survivors, witnessing scenes, and sometimes encountering evidence of abuse from interviews with domestic violence victims was enough truth, and it shouldn’t matter how close one is to the subjects or how much help one offers at the time of the reporting. 

The reward for me is having someone you never met listen to, and learn from you. It is an amazing and noble profession, when you find yourself moving to places both locally and internationally to meet with different people, getting to know them and their ways of life, and learning to tell their stories to others in a respectful and dignified manner. 

Even though, in many instances, access to these subjects isn’t that easy, there are people with unique and difficult stories to tell. The work of journalism allows other people to know them through their stories. 

At what point is the media ethics questionable? 

But reporting social issues comes with challenges, as does reporting in conflict or war zones. Dealing with the military during the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2014 was, I would say, the deadliest and riskiest experience of my career. 

Aside from reporting on the conflict itself, the war came with its own human rights violations -- and women were the most susceptible to these war crimes. These crimes included being made into sex slaves by the insurgents, or being forced to have sex with security personnel and humanitarian workers in exchange for food, money, and access to walk freely outside the fenced government camps for displaced people.

In most of these situations, the Nigerian military endangered the safety of journalists on a regular basis. For my protection, I never disclosed my professional identity as a journalist; I claimed to be a nurse to gain access to communities devastated by Boko Haram and access to official Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. I reported on government officials, security personnel, and humanitarian workers sexually abusing women in exchange for granting them food and money.

If I had revealed my professional identity, I would not have had such access to these sources. I also would have risked arrest, detention, and having my recording equipment confiscated or destroyed. In extreme situations, it could have meant the end of my journalism career.

Then there’s the issue of sexual abuse and objectification by senior government officials. I have had sources grab my breasts or touch me inappropriately when I walked past after I interviewed them. Reporting such an act would have amounted to nothing other than disgracing myself, as was the case for many of the rape victims I wrote about. 

I wonder how my own experiences have shaped how I think about ethical dilemmas, especially those relating to access to sources. The real world of reporting on a humanitarian crisis in northeastern Nigeria feels a long way from a New York classroom. Can traditional Western media ethics ever be truly applicable to my relationship to these individuals and their stories?

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Media and Communications Personal Statement

I was once told that the key to get into the creative industry is to prove that I have a well-rounded knowledge to be able to handle any brief that is thrown at me. A successful creative director had advised me that and I found those words replaying in my head over and over again. I have always been told, ever since I was seven, that I am creative and now I want to put that creativeness to use.

Art, design and computing have always been my favourite subjects; they change, improve, renew and inspire. Taking Fashion in my first year of college helped me to develop my skills in clothes design and production, life drawing, fashion illustrating and modeling. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I felt like I had more to offer so I moved to a BTEC in IT the next year. There, I was taught basic animation, games design, computer networks, business and web design.

Having realised that the industry jobs are highly sought after and very competitive, I started doing voluntary jobs to put myself out there in the industry. I volunteered at Wick Information Centre where I was assigned as a Designer. I was also approached by a couple of overseas companies to create their website along with some graphic design work. Working with them has taught me how to overcome communication barriers, the importance of teamwork and that to be able to stand out in your chosen career path, you must be able to do multiple things as well as to demonstrate that you can master some. To advertise myself, I created an online portfolio, which can be found at [1] .

But my hunger for learning more doesn't just stop there. I love Photography and capturing moments that you can never recapture, the sides of people that they are not aware of, the natural beauty of landscapes, nature itself and the fascinating architecture of some cultures. Capturing images give me the satisfaction of being creative and it allows me to express how I feel visually.

Being a part of the audience on 'Britain's Unzipped', a program on BBC TV, I found myself curious about what goes on behind the scenes and how the media affects and influences us. It is encompassing and powerful. A few months back, I took part in a friend's filming project as an actress and learnt a few things about filming such as camera angling, clip editing and having never-ending patience and passion, which sparked my interest in Media more. The subject is ever-changing and I want to take part in that change.

This year has brought me a lot of surprises, both good and bad, and despite choosing an unsuitable foundation course, I have learnt a great deal of lessons about life and what I am really passionate about. My hobbies include occasional trips to museums, such as the Saatchi Gallery and Tate Modern for art exhibitions, blogging about my trips both abroad and locally, writing restaurant reviews, going to new places and discovering more about the different architectural styles of various buildings and cultures, photo editing, educating myself on graphic design and website programming, and travelling, which has taught me so much about different cultures and has opened my eyes to the world.

Going to university will undoubtedly expand my skills and knowledge further and push me to strive for the best. I will bring my creativity and drive to the learning environment and I hope to leave with a strong portfolio and great, new experiences that will help me to reach my dreams.

Universities applied to:

• Goldsmiths University of London - Unconditional
• University of the Arts London - Conditional
• University of East London - Unsuccessful
• University for the Creative Arts - Conditional
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162 lies and distortions in a news conference. NPR fact-checks former President Trump

Domenico Montanaro

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Aug. 8. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

There were a host of false things that Donald Trump said during his hour-long news conference Thursday that have gotten attention.

A glaring example is his helicopter emergency landing story, which has not stood up to scrutiny .

But there was so much more. A team of NPR reporters and editors reviewed the transcript of his news conference and found at least 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies in 64 minutes. That’s more than two a minute. It’s a stunning number for anyone – and even more problematic for a person running to lead the free world.

Politicians spin. They fib. They misspeak. They make honest mistakes like the rest of us. And, yes, they even sometimes exaggerate their biographies .

The expectation, though, is that they will treat the truth as something important and correct any errors.

But what former President Trump did this past Thursday went well beyond the bounds of what most politicians would do.

Here’s what we found, going chronologically from the beginning of Trump’s remarks to the end:

1. “I think our country right now is in the most dangerous position it’s ever been in from an economic standpoint…” 

The U.S. economy has rebounded from the pandemic downturn more rapidly than most other countries around the world. Growth has slowed in recent months, but gross domestic product still grew at a relatively healthy annual clip of 2.8% in April, May and June – which is faster than the pace in three of the four years when Trump was president. — Scott Horsley, NPR chief economics correspondent

2. “…from a safety standpoint, both gangs on the street…”

We don’t have great, up-to-date data on gang activity in the U.S., but violent crime trends offer a good glimpse into safety in the country. Nationally, violent crime – that includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – has been trending way down after a surge in 2020, according to the most recent data from the FBI . That data is preliminary and incomplete, covering around three-quarters of the country, but other crime analysts have found similar trends. Crime levels, of course, vary locally : murders are down in Philadelphia, for instance, but up in Charlotte, N.C. — Meg Anderson, NPR National Desk reporter covering criminal justice

3. “...and frankly, gangs outside of our country in the form of other countries that are, frankly, very powerful. They’re very powerful countries.”

The U.S. is not in the “most dangerous position” from a foreign-policy standpoint than ever before. Biden pulled troops out of Afghanistan in his first year in office — though the withdrawal itself was chaotic and a target of much criticism — and since then, U.S. troops have not been actively engaged in a war for the first time in 20 years. The U.S. is supporting Ukraine and Israel, of course, and has troops in Iraq and Syria, but they’re not fighting on any regular basis.

What’s more, however, FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the greatest threat to the country is domestic extremism . And beyond organized groups the very definition of extremism is changing, as fringe ideologies move into the mainstream, and radicalization takes hold amongst parts of the populace. Consider: the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the assassination attempt on Trump’s life, even with a motive that remains murky at best. Regardless, the call is coming from inside the house, domestic extremism experts warn. Many polls show a sobering degree of support for political violence to drive change. — Andrew Sussman, NPR supervising editor for national security

4-5. “ We have a lot of bad things coming up. You could end up in a Depression of the 1929 variety, which would be a devastating thing, took many years– took many decades to recover from it, and we’re very close to that.”

There is nothing to suggest that a 1930s style Depression is on the horizon for the United States. And the Depression did not take “many decades to recover from.” It ended during World War Two , in 1941. — Scott Horsley

6. “And we’re very close to a world war. In my opinion, we’re very close to a world war.”

No serious person thinks that the U.S., Russia and China are about to start a world war. Right now, Russia appears to be having a hard time defending Russia, given Ukraine’s recent incursions. While there are concerns about things like the potential for regional conflagrations in the Middle East, only Trump is talking about world war. — Andrew Sussman

7. “ Kamala's record is horrible. She's a radical left person at a level that nobody's seen.” 

It’s debatable how liberal Harris is. Some in California didn’t like her record on criminal justice and thought she was not progressive enough. She’s clearly liked by progressives and her voting scores as a senator are on the liberal end of the spectrum, but is she “radical left” and “at a level that nobody’s seen”? There are plenty of people alive and in history who would be considered far more liberal and more radical.

8. “She picked a radical left man.”

Few, if any, reasonable people would say Walz is a “radical left man.” He had a progressive record as governor with a Democratic legislature, but the things passed are hardly radical – free school lunch, protecting abortion rights, legalizing marijuana, restricting access to certain types of guns. All of these things have majority support from voters. What’s more, that “progressive” record ignores Walz’s first term as governor when he worked with Republicans because Democrats didn’t control the legislature. And it ignores Walz’s time as a congressman when he was considered a more moderate member given that he was from a district that had been previously held by a Republican.

9. “He's going for things that nobody's ever even heard of. Heavy into the transgender world.” 

Last year, Walz championed and signed a bill that prevented state courts of officials from complying with child-removal requests, extraditions, arrests or subpoenas related to gender-affirming health care that a person receives or provides in Minnesota. “Heavy into the transgender world” is vague and misleading.

10. “He doesn't want to have borders. He doesn't want to have walls.”

Walz has never called for having no borders. He has voiced opposition to a wall because he doesn't think it will stop illegal immigration. He told Anderson Cooper on CNN , for example, that a wall "is not how you stop" illegal immigration He called for more border-control agents, electronics and more legal ways to immigrate.

11. “He doesn't want to have any form of safety for our country.”

Trump himself praised Walz’s handling of the aftermath of the George Floyd murder at the hands of a police officer. And it’s certainly hyperbole to say he “doesn’t want any form of safety for our country.” Walz served in the U.S. National Guard for 24 years, so clearly, he’s interested in the country having national security. And domestically, he’s never been a “defund the police” advocate. Walz opposed a ballot measure that would have gotten rid of minimum police staffing levels, for example. That angered advocates. He signed police reforms into law , but that does not prove wanting no safety.

12. “He doesn't mind people coming in from prisons.”

Walz has not said he wants people coming in from prisons. Trump is trying to tie his claim that other countries are sending prisoners to the United States to Democrats’ immigration policies.

13. “And neither does she, I guess. Because she's not, she couldn't care less.”

Harris has said a lot to the contrary of not caring about the levels of migrants coming across the border, let alone people coming in from prisons. In fact, when in Guatemala, she said her message for people thinking of immigrating to the United States was: " Do not come. Do not come ."

14. “She's the border czar. By the way, she was the border czar, 100%. And all of a sudden, for the last few weeks, she's not the border czar anymore, like nobody ever said it.”

Harris was never appointed “border czar.” That’s a phrase that was used incorrectly by some media outlets. Biden tasked Harris with leading the “ diplomatic effort ” with leaders in Central American countries, where many migrants are coming from.

Biden said he wants Harris “to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border.” He added that Harris “agreed to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept — the returnees, and enhance migration enforcement at their borders — at their borders.”

Harris herself that day spoke of “the need to address root causes for the migration that we’ve been seeing.”

15. “We have a very, very sick country right now. You saw the other day with the stock market crashing. That was just the beginning. That was just the beginning.”

The stock market did not “crash.” The stock market fell sharply at the end of last week as investors fretted about a softening job market. This was amplified on Monday when Japan’s stock market tumbled 12%, sparking a selloff around the world. Stocks in Japan and elsewhere have since regained much of this ground, however. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 683 points on the day of Trump’s news conference. — Scott Horsley

16. “Fortunately, we've had some very good polls over the last fairly short period of time.”

Most good polls have shown Harris gaining not just nationally, but also in the swing states, though these same polls show a very close race.

17. “Rasmussen came out today. We're substantially leading.” 

Trump is not substantially leading, and Rasmussen is viewed as one of the least credible pollsters in the country.

18. “And others came out today that we're leading, and in some cases, substantially, I guess, MSNBC came out, or CNBC came out also, with a poll that was, you know, has us leading.” 

Polls have not shown substantial leads. CNBC had Trump leading by 2, unchanged from his 2-point lead in July.

19. “And leading fairly big in swing states. In some polls, I'm leading very big in swing states… .”

Again, polls in swing states have shown a tightened race.

20. “But as a border czar, she's been the worst border czar in history, in the world history.”

Vice President Harris was never asked to lead immigration policy. That’s the job of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Again, the term “border czar” was used inaccurately by some media outlets, and it’s a term conservatives have been using to attack her, in part, because she has only visited the Southern U.S. border a few times since 2021. But in reality, Harris was tapped by President Biden to address the root causes of migration . Her approach has focused on deterrence. She’s told migrants to not come to the U.S., and she has been able to secure more than $5 billion in commitments from private companies to help boost the economy in Central American countries. — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR immigration correspondent based in Texas 

21. “I think the number is 20 million, but whether it's 15 or 20, it's numbers that nobody's ever heard before. 20 million people came over the border in the last– during the Biden-Harris administration. Twenty-million people. And it could be very much higher than that. Nobody really knows what the number is.”

It’s unclear where Trump is getting this number from. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection , since 2021 agents have had more than 7.3 million encounters nationwide with migrants trying to cross into the country illegally. Under Biden, unlawful crossings hit an all-time high last year, but that number has decreased significantly, in part, due to Biden’s asylum restrictions at the Southern U.S. border. An April report from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics found there’s nearly 11 million unauthorized migrants in the country. — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

22. “Just like far more people were killed in the Ukraine-Russia war than you have reported.”

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is revealing its own casualty figures, so there are only very broad estimates. — Andrew Sussman 

23. “A lot of great things would have happened, but now you have millions and millions of dead people. And you have people dying financially, because they can't buy bacon; they can't buy food; they can't buy groceries; they can't do anything. And they're living horribly in our country right now.”

Grocery prices actually jumped sharply during Trump’s last year in office, as pandemic lockdowns disrupted the food supply chain and Americans were suddenly forced to eat more of their meals at home. Grocery inflation in June 2020 hit 5.6%. This was masked, however, by a plunge in other prices, as the global economy fell into pandemic recession.

As the economy rebounded, prices did, too. Inflation began to rise in 2021, and spiked in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent food and energy prices soaring. Inflation has since moderated, falling from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3% in June 2024 . (July’s inflation figures will be released next week.) Grocery prices have largely leveled off in the last year, although they remain higher than they were before the pandemic – a potent reminder of the rising cost of living.

Economists have warned that Trump’s proposed import tariffs and immigration restrictions could result in higher inflation in the years to come. Researchers from the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimate the tariffs alone would cost the typical family about $1,700 a year . — Scott Horsley

24. “We've agreed with NBC, fairly full agreement, subject to them, on Sept. 10th.”

This is ABC, not NBC.

25. “She can't do an interview. She's barely competent and she can't do an interview.” 

Harris hasn’t done interviews since getting into the campaign, but she has done them in the past, so saying “she can’t do” one or that she is “barely competent” are just insults. Trump tends to revert to questioning the intelligence of Black women who challenge him. In fact, Trump did it nine times in this news conference, saying either Harris is not that “smart” (five times) "incompetent” (three times) or “barely competent,” as he did here.

26-27. “Why is it that millions of people were allowed to come into our country from prisons, from jails, from mental institutions, insane asylums, even insane asylums, that's a– it's a mental institution on steroids. That's what it is.”

Immigration experts have said they have not been able to find any evidence of this. Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, told FactCheck.org : “It’s hard to prove a negative — nobody’s writing a report saying, ‘Ecuador is not opening its mental institutions’ — but what I can say is that I work full-time on migration, am on many coalition mailing lists, correspond constantly with partners in the region, and scan 300+ RSS feeds and Twitter lists of press outlets and activists region wide, and I have not seen a single report indicating that this is happening. … As far as I can tell, it’s a total fabrication.”

Notably, a version of this did happen in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift from Cuba . The Washington Post noted three years later: “Back in 1980, it seemed to be a humanitarian and patriotic gesture to accept provisionally, without papers or visas, all those fleeing from the port of Mariel. More than 125,000 came. Most were true refugees, many had families here, and the great majority has settled into American communities without mishap. But the Cuban dictator played a cruel joke. He opened his jails and mental hospitals and put their inmates on the boats too.”

Without a question, some migrants who have come into the U.S. have committed crimes, but the data show the vast majority do not. According to Northwestern University , immigrants are less likely to commit a crime than U.S.-born people and certainly at no higher rates that the population writ large. (Trump goes on to repeat this claim minutes later in the news conference as well, so it is included in our count here.)

28. “We have a president that's the worst president in the history of our country.”

Trump may have this opinion, but he says it as if it’s fact, and a 2022 survey of historians ranked Biden in the top half of presidents. Trump, on the other hand, was No. 43. The two below Trump were James Buchanan, who did little to stop the impending U.S. Civil War, and the impeached and nearly convicted Andrew Johnson.

29. “We have a vice president who is the least admired, least respected, and the worst vice president in the history of our country.” 

A recent rating of vice presidents did not show this. Harris was in the bottom half of vice presidents, but Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, Henry A. Wallace and were toward the bottom of the list.

30. “The most unpopular vice president.”

This might have been true about a year ago or so, but not anymore. An NBC poll then showed Harris had the lowest favorability rating of any modern VP they’d tested. But her numbers have turned around. The NPR poll had Harris with a 46%/48% favorable to unfavorable rating, which was higher than Trump’s and his running mate, JD Vance, who is among the least popular running mates in recent history .

31. “Don't forget, she was the first one defeated. As I remember it, because I watched it very closely, but she was the first one.”

Harris was not “defeated,” because she dropped out of the Democratic presidential race before Iowa. But even if one considers her dropping out on Dec. 3, 2019, a defeat, she was not the first of the Democratic candidates in that primary campaign to do so. At least 10 others dropped out sooner .

32-34. “And I'm no Biden fan, but I'll tell you what, from a constitutional standpoint, from any standpoint you're looking at, they took the presidency away. … And they took it away.” 

There’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution about picking presidential candidates. This is a party process, and everything has been done within party rules. And, again, the presidency wasn’t taken away: Biden is still president.

35. “They said they're going to use the 25th Amendment.”

This was never floated as a possibility to get Biden to withdraw from the race. Biden’s Cabinet members are all people he appointed and who are loyal to him. In addition, the 25th Amendment outlines a procedure for removing a sitting president from office, not from running for a second term.

36-39. "They're going to hit you hard. ‘Either we can do it the nice way. I heard, I know exactly, because I know a lot of people on the other side, believe it or not. And, they said, ‘We'll do it the nice way, or we'll do it the hard way.’ And he said, ‘All right.”

This was not said; he did not hear; no Democrats in the know are talking to Trump; and this dialogue is made up.

40. “We're leading, we're leading.”

The race is statistically tied in national polls and in the states. In some national polls, Harris leads. In some, Trump does.

41-42. “I'm saying it's a–, for a country with a Constitution that we cherish, we cherish this Constitution to have done it this way is pretty severe, pretty horrible. … But to just take it away from him, like he was a child.”

Again, this is Trump talking about how Biden stepped aside, and there’s nothing in the Constitution about how the political parties should pick candidates. And nothing was taken away.

43-46. “And he's a very angry man right now, I can tell you that. He's not happy with Obama, and he's not happy with Nancy Pelosi. Crazy Nancy, she is crazy, too. She's not happy with any of the people that told him that you've gotta leave. He's very unhappy, very angry, and I think he, He also blames her. He's trying to put up a good face, but it's a very bad thing in terms of a country when you do that. I'm not a fan of his, as you probably have noticed, and he had a rough debate, but that doesn't mean that you just take it away like that.” 

Trump can’t speak to Biden’s state of mind; all evidence is that Nancy Pelosi is perfectly sane – see her recent multiple rounds of interviews about her book, including with NPR ; again, Trump doesn’t know Biden’s state of mind; and again, nobody took it away.

47-51. “She's trying to say she had nothing to do with the border. She had everything. She was appointed to head the border. And then they said border czar. Oh, she loved that name. She loved that name. But she never went there. She went to a location once along the border, but that was a location that you would love to go and have dinner with your husband or whoever. That was a location that was not part of the problem. That was not really going to the border. So I– essentially she never went to the border.”

(1) As previously noted, she was not put in charge of the border and certainly did not have “everything” to do with it; (2) she was not appointed to head the border; (3) if “they” is the White House, then “they” did not call her “border czar”; (4) Trump doesn’t know what Harris might have thought about the term; (5) Harris did not go to a place at the border “you would love to go and have dinner with your husband or whoever.”

In 2021, Harris toured border patrol facilities in El Paso, Texas, visited an area where asylum seekers were screened, and met with migrants. Republicans criticized her at the time for not going to the Rio Grande Valley.

52. “Now we have the worst border in the history of the world.” 

World history is filled with cases where one country has crossed a border and invaded a neighboring country.

53. “She destroyed San Francisco. She destroyed California as the A.G. But as the D.A. She destroyed it. She– San Francisco. … She destroyed– no cash bail, weak on crime, uh, she's terrible.”

As San Francisco’s district attorney from 2004 to 2011, and then California’s attorney general until 2017, it’s true that Kamala Harris was deeply connected to how crime was prosecuted during that particular period. However, no single person is responsible for destroying any city or state, not to mention that both are not destroyed.

There are just too many factors that contribute to why crime rises and falls. What’s more, according to the FBI , both violent and property crime rates in California more or less mirrored national trends during her tenures. As a prosecutor, Harris was largely seen as aligning more with law-and-order tendencies, though she has supported some progressive reforms, like offering certain criminal defendants drug treatment instead of going to trial. She also tweeted support for a Minnesota bail fund after the 2020 protests of George Floyd’s murder. — Meg Anderson

During her campaign for the 2020 nomination, she rolled out a plan that would have phased out cash bail , and she pledged to eliminate it as president because “no one should have to sit in jail for days or even years because they don’t have the money to pay bail.” But in the same campaign, during a debate, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard criticized Harris for keeping cash bail in place as district attorney.

54. “And yet they weaponized the system against me.” 

The justice system was not weaponized against Trump. Biden went through pains to not show any interference with the Justice Department. And Trump was found guilty by a jury of his peers in New York in a state case.

55-58. “I won the big case in Florida. I won the big case. … Nobody even wrote about it. The big case.” 

(1) Trump did not “win” the classified documents case against him in Florida; (2) this was not “the big case” against him; (3) there was plenty of coverage of it; and (4) he goes on to repeat that he won the case later.

For context: the judge in the case controversially dismissed it, claiming the special counsel was unconstitutionally appointed despite Supreme Court decisions upholding independent counsels. The Justice Department has signaled it will appeal by the end of August but by the time the decision comes back, the election will be over.

Trump had four criminal cases against him including the classified documents case – the fraudulent business practices case in New York, for which he was convicted on 34 felony counts; an election interference case in Georgia; and the other federal case dealing with Jan. 6. If there was a biggest case, it was the last one.

59. “The judge was a brilliant judge, and all they do is they play the ref with the judges. But this judge was a fair but brilliant judge.”

There has been lots of criticism of the judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed. She had very little experience as a trial judge, made several decisions that were questioned by legal experts and early in this case, had a ruling, in which she called for a special master to review classified documents first, overturned by the 11th Circuit.

60. “Now Biden lost it because he didn't have presidential immunity. He didn't have the Presidential Records Act. He lost it.”

This was not “Biden’s case.” It was to be tried by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Biden White House has made efforts to keep an arms-length distance from the investigation. Biden often declined to comment on the Justice Department’s and state investigations into Trump when it would likely have been politically advantageous for him to talk about it on the campaign trail.

61. “But the– I call it prosecutors, special counsel, special prosecutor to me. He–, appointed by him and appointed by Garland. He said the man's incompetent. He can't stand trial, but he can run for president.” 

This appears to be a misrepresentation of what special counsel Robert Hur said of Biden in a report he released investigating the president’s handling of classified documents. Hur said he wouldn’t be charging Biden, called the president “an elderly man with a poor memory" and said a jury might find sympathy with him because of it. He did not say Biden was incompetent and could not stand trial.

62. “She couldn't pass her bar exam.”

This is false. Harris passed her bar exam on the second try . She failed on first attempt, which is not unusual for California’s bar exam given its difficulty.

63. “I was doing very well with Black voters, and I still am. I seem to be doing very well with Black males. This is according to polls, as you know. 

Trump was not doing “very well” with Black voters. Biden was not doing as well with Black voters as he did in 2020, according to most surveys, but that didn’t mean Black voters were moving heavily toward Trump. Many seemed more likely not to vote. There were signs that Trump was doing better with Black men, but there wasn’t much good evidence to support this in polling, considering most national polls have such high margins of error with voter groups. A typical national survey might have 1,000 voters and 100 or so Black voters, give or take. That’s typically a margin of error upward of +/- 10 percentage points, meaning results could be a whopping 10 points higher or lower.

64. “Extremely well with Hispanic.”

Like with Black voters, it’s difficult to tell in most national surveys exactly how well a candidate is doing with Latino voters because of high margins of error. “Extremely well” depends on how it’s defined, but this is an exaggeration.

65. “Jewish voters, way up.”

Jewish voters traditionally vote roughly 2-to-1 for Democrats in presidential elections, so this seems more like a hope than reality.

66. “White males, way up. White males have gone through the roof. White males, way up.” 

It’s just not the case that Trump is “way up.” NPR polling finds that while Trump is doing as well as ever with white men without college degrees, Harris – and Biden before her – is actually leading with white men with college degrees, a group Trump won in 2020, according to exit polls .

67. “It could be that I'll be affected somewhat with Black females. Well, we're doing pretty well. And I think ultimately they'll like me better, because I'm gonna give them security, safety and jobs.”

Trump is not doing well with Black females. Black women are a key pillar Democratic voting group, and Black voters have moved more in Harris’ favor since she’s gotten in.

69. “We have a very bad economy right now. We could, we could literally be on the throes of a depression. Not recession, a Depression. And they can't have that. They can't have that.”

This is not the case. See earlier fact check. (He repeats this again later in the press conference, so it is included here in the count.)

70. “I know Josh Shapiro. He's a terrible guy. And he's not very popular with anybody.” 

A Fox News poll last month showed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a finalist to be Harris’ running mate, had a 61% approval rating in the state. Other polls also found him with a net-positive rating, though, not quite as high.

71. “Listen, I had 107,000 people in New Jersey. You didn't report it.”

It was reported that the numbers come from faulty information about the size of a crowd at Trump’s rally. More accurate estimates appear to be anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 . Still, a very large crowd, but Trump is exaggerating here.

72-77. “What did she have yesterday? 2,000 people? If I ever had 2,000 people, you'd say my campaign is finished. It's so dishonest, the press. … When she gets 1,500 people, and I saw it yesterday on ABC, which they said, ‘Oh, the crowd was so big.’ … I have 10 times, 20 times, 30 times the crowd size. And no, they never say the crowd was big. … I think it's so terrible when you say, ‘Well she has 1,500 people, 1,000 people,’ and they talk about, oh, the enthusiasm.” 

(1-3) Trump gave at least three incorrect estimates here, downplaying Harris’ crowd sizes (2,000, 1,500 and 1,000); (4) He also far overestimated how big his crowd sizes are compared to Harris’; (5-6) He twice said the press is dishonest about her crowd size and about his.

For context, the Harris campaign’s estimate was 10,000 or more at each rally. What the exact number is might be unclear — as is often the case with crowd-size estimates — but they were bigger than 2,000 and 1,500. Reporters have often commented on the size of Trump’s crowds. Frequently, they are very large, certainly larger than ones that Hillary Clinton drew in 2016 or Joe Biden this year, but Trump also regularly exaggerates their sizes.

78. “If I were president, you wouldn't have Russia and Ukraine, where it never happened. Zero chance. You wouldn't have had Oct. 7th of Israel.”

This is speculation, and that there is simply no way to know what would have happened in either case if he'd been reelected.

79. “You wouldn't have had inflation. You wouldn't have had any inflation because inflation was caused by their bad energy problems.” 

Again, this is speculative. Energy and food prices jumped sharply around the world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russian energy. Gasoline prices in the U.S. hit a record high topping $5 a gallon. But domestic energy production has not suffered during the Biden administration. In fact, U.S. oil and natural gas production hit record highs last year. AAA reports the average price of gasoline today is $3.45/gallon. — Scott Horsley

80. "I don't know if you know, they're drilling now because they had to go back because gasoline was going up to $7, $8, $9 a barrel."

Oil and gas production has largely been determined by energy companies. They were disciplined about not expanding production when prices were low but have become more aggressive as prices climbed. While Kamala Harris opposed “fracking” for oil and gas during her 2019 presidential campaign, she now says she would not try to outlaw the practice – which is important in battleground states such as Pennsylvania. — Scott Horsley

81. “Everybody's going to be forced to buy an electric car, which they're not going to do because they don't want that. It's got a great market. It's got a market. It's really a sub market.”

The Biden administration has set a goal of having 50% of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030 . It has primarily tried to achieve this through carrots rather than sticks, offering incentives to make electric cars more affordable, encouraging the development of electric charging stations and using the federal government’s own purchasing power to create demand. — Scott Horsley

82. “We don't have enough electricity. We couldn't make enough electricity for that.”

A shift to electric vehicles will require a rapid updating and expansion of the U.S. power grid, according to the Electric Power Research Institute . However, as EVs become more efficient, the increased demand could be reduced by as much as 50% per mile traveled over the next three decades. — Scott Horsley

83. “The weight of a car, the weight of a truck, they want all trucks to be electric. Little things that a lot of people don't talk about. The weight of a truck is two-and-a-half times, two-and-a- half times heavier.” 

Electric vehicles are typically heavier than gasoline-powered vehicles, because of the batteries. But the weight difference is about 30% , not 250% as Trump said. What’s more, American vehicles have been getting heavier for decades, long before the move to EVs, thanks to the popularity of pickup trucks and SUVs.

84. “You would have to rebuild every bridge in this country, if you were going to do this ridiculous policy.”

While many bridges and other transportation infrastructure need improvement , the additional weight of EVs is just one of many factors that will need to be considered. Another challenge is that bridges and highways are typically funded through gasoline taxes. The shift to EVs, which don’t use gasoline, will require an alternate source of highway funding.

85-90. “So, but on crowd size in history, for any country, nobody's had crowds like I have, and you know that. And when she gets 1,000 people and everybody starts jumping, you know that if I had a thousand people would say, people would say, that's the end of his campaign. I have hundreds of thousands of people in, uh, South Carolina. I had 88,000 people in Alabama. I had 68,000 people. Nobody says about crowd size with me, but she has 1,000 people or 1,500 people, and they say, oh, the enthusiasm's back.”

There were at least six different misstatements here – (1) Trump has had large crowds, but “in history,” there certainly there have been people with larger crowds, from Barack Obama and others; (2, 3) her crowds have been larger than 1,000, which he repeats twice; (4) no serious analysts have said this is the end of Trump’s campaign. This race is very close; (5) there’s no evidence for crowds of the size Trump notes in South Carolina and Alabama; (6) people do talk about Trump’s crowd sizes.

91. “They wanna stop people from pouring into our country, from places unknown and from countries unknown from countries that nobody ever heard of.”

Someone has likely heard of whatever the unnamed country is.

92-93. “We're leading in Georgia by a lot. We're leading in Pennsylvania by a lot.”

The races in Georgia and Pennsylvania are within the margin of error, according to an average of the polls.

94. “So I won Alabama by a record. Nobody's ever gotten that many votes. I won South Carolina by a record. You don't win Alabama and South Carolina by records and lose Georgia. It doesn't happen.”

It does, and here’s why. Demographically, Georgia has become very different from South Carolina and Alabama. Georgia’s population is now majority-minority, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Alabama and South Carolina are 64% and 63% white, respectively.

Georgia’s Black population is also significant politically — 33% of the state’s population is Black. By comparison, Alabama is 27% Black, South Carolina 26%. Latinos also make up 11% of Georgia’s population and Asian Americans are 5%, both of which are higher than Alabama and South Carolina. And Georgia’s population is marginally younger — 15% of Georgia’s population is older than 65% compared to 18% in Alabama and 19% in South Carolina.

95. “If we have honest elections in Georgia, if we have honest elections in Pennsylvania, We're gonna win them by a lot.”

Winning them by a lot is highly unlikely, considering how close the states have been in recent elections, but perhaps more pressing is Trump’s insinuation that there were voting problems in the two states, which there were not. That’s why Trump is upset with Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, for example, because he upheld the valid 2020 election results even in the face of pressure from Trump.

96. “Of course there'll be a peaceful transfer. And there was last time.”

This wholly ignores the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol, which took place because of Trump’s election lies.

97. “Because I'm leading by a lot.”

Again, this is a very close race.

98. “We have commercials that are at a level I don't think that anybody's ever done before.”

This is false. Since Super Tuesday, Democrats have outspent Trump’s campaign and outside groups supporting him by more than double, according to data provided by AdImpact and analyzed by NPR — $373.5 million to $150.6 million.

99. “She's not smart enough to do a news conference.”

There is plenty of evidence that Harris is “smart enough to do a news conference,” as she has done in the past.

100. "We're in great danger of being in World War III. That could happen." 

Again, no serious analyst believes this.

101. “I think those people were treated very harshly, when you compare them to other things that took place in this country where a lot of people were killed.”

The Justice Department investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, is the largest and most complex federal criminal probe in U.S. history, the attorney general has said. More than 140 law enforcement officers were injured that day, in what U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves has described as the biggest mass casualty event involving police. It’s hard to find any comparable event in recent American history.

As of Aug. 6, 2024, according to Graves’s office, prosecutors have charged more than 160 people with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Prosecutors have also secured convictions on the rarely-deployed charge of seditious conspiracy, or attempting to overthrow the government by use of force, against top leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.

Even so, only a small number of Jan. 6 defendants have been held in federal custody while they await trial. Mostly, these are the rioters who allegedly used the most violence on that day more than three years ago. Republican members of Congress have toured the jail facilities and decried conditions there, expressions of support that defendants facing ordinary charges in D.C. have not received. — Carrie Johnson, NPR national justice correspondent

102. “Nobody was killed on Jan. 6th.” 

Conservatives were upset at the time that one of the rioters, Ashli Babbitt, was killed when she was shot by police, as she was trying to force her way into the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol, which leads to the House chamber, with a crowd of others. Many officers were injured that day; one died of a stroke as a result of Jan. 6; and others later died by suicide that their families say was also a result of Jan. 6.

103-105. “And, you know, it's very interesting, the biggest crowd I've ever spoken to. … The biggest crowd I've ever spoken before was that day. … The biggest crowd I've ever spoken. … I've spoken to the biggest crowds. Nobody's spoken to crowds bigger than me.” 

It was not the biggest crowd he’s ever spoken to. His inauguration would have topped that. And others have had bigger crowds, as noted earlier.

106. “I said peacefully and patriotically.”

While Trump did utter those words, it is misleading. Trump also said the word “fight” multiple times , and he told the already angry crowd because of the election lies he fed them: “We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Trump aides testified that he “refused” to tweet the word “peaceful” in the days leading up to the rally because he thought it might discourage people from being there, and he was concerned about his crowd size.

107-108. “If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech, and you look at ours, same real estate, same, everything, same number of people. If not, we had more. …You look at the picture of his crowd, my crowd, uh, we actually had more people.”

First, the speeches did not take place at the “same real estate.” Trump spoke from a position just south of the Ellipse. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Second, the crowds were not the same size and Trump’s was certainly not larger. It is an extraordinary claim and shows just how much Trump cares about crowd size.

109. “We have a Constitution. It's a very important document, and we live by it. She has no votes.” 

Again, there’s nothing in the Constitution about how parties should pick their presidents.

110-111. “They said, ‘You're not going to win, you can't win, you're out.’ And at first they said it nicely, and he wasn't leaving, and then you, you know, the, you know it better than anybody. … At first, they were going to go out to another vote, they were going to go through a primary system, a quick primary system, which it would have to be. And then it all disappeared, and they just picked a person.”

As explained earlier, this is not how Biden wound up stepping aside. The story is yet another Trump invention. He also lies here in saying that “they were going to go through a primary system” and “it would have to be” a quick primary system.” There’s no requirement that a primary is held. In fact, for many years, candidates’ selection as party nominees had nothing to do with primaries, and they were not as prevalent as today.

112-113. “That was the first out. She was the first loser, OK? So, we call her the first loser. She was the first loser when– during the primary system, during the Democrat primary system, she was the first one to quit. And she quit.”

As explained earlier, Harris was not the first one out in the 2020 Democratic primary race. And “first loser” appears to be a name Trump made up at this news conference, as Harris has not been referred to that way as a result of her run for the 2020 nomination.

114. “She did, obviously, a bad job. She never made it to Iowa. Then for some reason, and I'm, I know he regrets it, you do too, uh, he picked her, and she turned on him too. She was working with the people that wanted him out."

Once again, this is a false conspiracy invented by Trump.

115. “She was the first one out.” 

Trump repeats this false line again.

116. “I think the abortion issue is written very much tempered down, and I've answered I think very well in the debate, and it seems to be much less of an issue, especially for those where they have the exceptions.”

Abortion rights as a political and social issue has certainly not “tempered down.” There are millions of women, especially across the South, who do not have access to abortion and women who have experienced pregnancy losses with the inability to access medications for those necessary procedures.

117. “As you know, and I think it's when I look for 52 years, they wanted to bring abortion back to the states. They wanted to get rid of Roe v. Wade and that's Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and everybody. Liberals, conservatives, everybody wanted it back in the states. And I did that.”

Everybody absolutely did not want that. It was actually quite unpopular for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe . And he again repeats that it has become less of an issue.

118-119. “I think that abortion has become much less of an issue. It's a very small.” 

“I think it's actually going to be a very small issue. What I've done is I've done what every Democrat and every Every Republican wanted to have done.” 

“I think the abortion issue has been taken down many notches. I don't think it's of– I don't think it's a big factor anymore, really.”

Minutes apart from each other, he repeats these three false claims. Abortion rights is not a “very small” issue for millions of voters. Democrats are organizing around it, and it has been seminal to Biden and Harris’ campaigns.

120. “Previous to [Virginia Gov.] Glenn [Youngkin], the governor, he said the baby will be born, we will put the baby aside, and we will decide with the mother what we're going to do. In other words, whether or not we're going to kill the baby.”

This is a distortion Republicans continue to push about what former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said. This has been fact-checked by others multiple times .

121-122. “I think the abortion issue has been, uh, taken down many notches. I don't think it's of, uh, I don't think it's a big factor anymore, really.”

“Everybody wanted it in the states.”

“But that issue has is very much subdued.”

He once again returns to the issue of abortions, which remains a “factor,” not everybody wanted it in the states, the issue is not “very much subdued.”

123-124. “ She wants to take away everyone's gun.” 

Harris has not proposed taking away all guns. She has proposed banning assault-style weapons, something that was in place for a decade. Some surveys had shown majority support for this. Others show a split. (Trump makes this case later, as well, so that is also included in the count.)

125. “Some countries have actually gone the opposite way. They had very strong gun laws and now they have gone the opposite way, where they allowed people to have guns, where in one case they encouraged people to go out and get guns, and crime is down 29%.”

It’s difficult to compare gun violence and gun laws in the United States to other countries, simply because of the staggering amount of guns we have here. Although the U.S. has less than 5% of the world’s population, it holds almost 40% or more of the world’s civilian-owned guns. And it has “the highest homicide-by-firearm rate of the world’s most developed nations,” per the Council on Foreign Relations . Norway, Canada and Australia all tightened their gun restrictions after shootings. — Meg Anderson

126. “On July 4th, 117 people were shot and 17 died. The toughest gun laws in the United States are in the city of Chicago. You know that. They had 117 people shot. Afghanistan does not have that.” 

Though Trump didn’t get the numbers exactly right, Chicago did have an incredibly violent July 4th holiday weekend this year. According to Mayor Brandon Johnson, more than 100 people were shot and 19 of those people died. Chicago does have strict gun laws, in part because its state does: Everytown For Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control, ranks Illinois third in the nation for the strength of its gun-control laws. However, no state or city exists within a bubble, and Illinois is surrounded by states with much weaker laws, including Indiana, which is just a short drive from Chicago. — Meg Anderson

127. “For 18 months, not one American soldier was shot at or killed, but not even shot at.” 

This is, to put it charitably, misleading. It appears that he’s actually referencing the period when the Trump administration signed the deal with the Taliban, in advance of U.S. troops leaving. The deal said the U.S. would be out in 14 months, and in exchange the Taliban wouldn’t harbor terrorists and would stop attacking U.S. service members. Needless to say, the deal didn’t hold. But as the AP notes , “There was an 18-month stretch that saw no combat, or ‘hostile,’ deaths in Afghanistan: from early February 2020 to August 2021.” – Andrew Sussman

128. “Kamala is in favor of not giving Israel weapons. That's what I hear.”

Harris does not support an Israel weapons embargo. A Biden administration official posted on social media that Harris "has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.” A leader of the uncommitted movement said Harris “expressed an openness” to a meeting about an embargo, but the Biden administration official said Harris "will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law,” not that she would support an embargo.

129. “She's been very, very bad to Israel, and she's been very bad and disrespectful to Jewish people.”

Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. The couple has hosted Passover Seders.

130. “Well, I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together and there was an emergency landing.”

This claim has not held up to scrutiny. Politico reported that Trump did have to make an emergency landing in a helicopter with a Black California politician decades ago, but it wasn’t Willie Brown, the former San Francisco mayor and state assembly speaker. It was Nate Holden, a former Los Angeles city councilman and state senator.

131-132. “This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was— he was a little concerned. So I know him. I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven't seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her.”

“He was not a fan of hers very much at that point.”

This is something Trump repeated twice, minutes apart from each other. Brown strongly denies having been on a helicopter with Trump or telling Trump negative things about Harris, whom he dated in the mid-1990s and supports now for president. The relationship ended in 1995.

133. “Our tax cuts, which are the biggest in history… .”

The 2017 tax cuts were not the biggest in history. As a share of the economy, they barely make the top 10 . They were big enough, however, to blow a big hole in the federal budget, which is why Trump was overseeing a nearly $1 trillion dollar annual deficit before the pandemic. — Scott Horsley

134. “It'll destroy the economy.”

This is what Trump said will happen if his tax cuts are not renewed. But The 2017 tax cut did not deliver the economic boom that its supporters promised, and there’s no reason to think reversing a portion of the cut would cause economic destruction. — Scott Horsley

135. “I've never seen people get elected by saying, 'We're going to give you a tax increase.'”

Vice President Harris has echoed President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. However, Biden has called for raising taxes on wealthy individuals and raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% – halfway back to where it was before the 2017 cut. — Scott Horsley

136. “These guys get up, think of it. ‘We're going to give you no security.’ …”

No Democratic presidential candidate has advocated “no security.”

137. “We're going to give you a weak military… .’ ”

An analysis by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, showed a “review of historical defense budget trends shows there is more at play in determining overall investments in defense than just which party is in the White House.” Indeed, since the year 2000, U.S.-led wars overseas have resulted in a surge of spending by both Democratic and Republican administrations.

138-139. “…We're going to give you no walls, no borders, no anything.”

Harris, Walz and the Democratic Party have never said they want “no borders.” They certainly oppose Trump’s wall/fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, citing the exorbitant cost and its relative ineffectiveness, they say, compared to using other methods. (Trump later says that Harris wants “open borders,” so that’s included in the count here.)

140. “...We're going to give you a tax increase.”

Again, this is misleading and suggests Harris wants to increase taxes across the board when they have consistently talked about increasing taxes only on the wealthy. In Harris’ view, those making more than $400,000 a year .

141. “They're gonna destroy Social Security.”

Democrats have consistently advocated for keeping Social Security and making it solvent.

142. “They've weaponized government against me. Look at the Florida case. It was a totally weaponized case. All of these cases, by the way, the New York cases are totally controlled out of the Department of Justice. They sent their top person to the various places. They went to the A.G.'s office, got that one going, then he went to the D.A.'s office, got that one going, ran through it. No, no, this is all politics, and it's a disgrace.”

In congressional testimony this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers that President Biden had never called him to discuss any of the cases against Trump. Garland also had aides review Justice Department leaders’ email for any correspondence with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In a letter to Congress in June 2024, the Justice Department said it had found no such contacts.

In that same letter, Justice Department legislative affairs chief Carlos Uriarte said the department did not “dispatch” former acting Associate Attorney General Matthew Colangelo to New York to join Bragg’s team prosecuting Trump. “Department leadership was unaware of his work on the investigation and prosecution involving the former president until it was reported in the news,” Uriarte wrote. — Carrie Johnson

143. “Any time you have mail-in ballots, you're gonna have problems. ... We should have one-day voting; we should have paper ballots; we should have voter ID; and we should have proof of citizenship.” 

Trump continues to spread baseless claims about mail ballots. There’s no proof of widespread fraud with the voting method. When it comes to paper ballots, they're standard. One estimate found that in the 2024 general election, "nearly 99% of all registered voters will live in jurisdictions where they can cast a ballot with a paper record of the vote."

The proof of citizenship comment echoes a Republican push on the issue , though studies have shown voting by non-U.S. citizens in federal elections to be exceedingly rare. The GOP-led House has passed a bill to require such documentary proof, but it’s likely to go no further in a Senate led by Democrats who are opposed to adding new voting restrictions. — Ben Swasey, voting editor

144. “The polls have suggested, there are some polls that say we're going to win in a landslide.” 

There are no polls that suggest Trump will win in a landslide. By all accounts, this is a very close race.

145. “...they're paying 50, 60, 70 percent more for food than they did just a couple of years ago.”

The rise in grocery prices is a common complaint , but Trump exaggerates the scale of the increase. According to the Consumer Price Index, grocery prices have risen 25% since before the pandemic and 21% since President Biden took office. (At the same time, average wages have risen 23% since before the pandemic and 17% since President Biden took office.)

146-149. The Strategic National Reserve is “virtually empty now. We've never had it this low.”

“He's sucked all of the oil out.”

“Essentially the gasoline to keep the, to keep the price down a little bit. … But you know what? We have no strategic national reserves now. He's emptied it. It's almost empty. It's never been this low.”

“They've just, for the sake of getting some votes, for the sake of having gasoline–. You know, that's meant for wars. It's meant for, like, tragedy. It's not meant to keep a gasoline price down, so that somebody can vote for Biden or, in this case, Kamala.” 

The strategic oil reserve is actually up in the past year . Biden has since repurchased about 32 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. As of this month, the reserve held about 376 million barrels of oil. The reserve was lower when Trump left office than when he got in.

150. “I see it right now, I see her going way down on the polls now.”

The opposite is true. Harris has continued her momentum since getting into the race.

151-152. “...now that people are finding out that she destroyed San Francisco, she destroyed the state of California.” 

As addressed earlier, Harris is not entirely responsible for San Francisco or the state of California. Crime trends there were similar to national crime trends during her time as district attorney in San Francisco and as the state’s attorney general. What’s more, preliminary data for this year indicates that many cities in California, including San Francisco, are seeing murder rates falling. (Trump repeats the claim one more time later in the news conference, so it is included in the count here.) — Meg Anderson

153. “She was early, I mean, she was the first of the prosecutors, really, you know, now you see Philadelphia, you see Los Angeles, you see New York, you see various people that are very bad, but she was the first of the bad prosecutors, she was early.”

Although Harris did refer to herself in her 2019 memoir as a “progressive prosecutor,” her legacy has largely been seen as tougher on crime. She has supported some progressive reforms, such as pretrial diversion, which offers certain criminal defendants things like drug treatment instead of going to trial. — Meg Anderson

154. “You know, with Hillary Clinton, I could have done things to her that would have made your head spin. I thought it was a very bad thing – take the wife of a president of the United States, and put her in jail. And then I see the way they treat me. That's the way it goes. But I was very protective of her. Nobody would understand that. But I was. I think my people understand it. They used to say, lock her up, lock her up. And I'd say, just relax, please.”

Trump called for Clinton’s imprisonment multiple times , including going along with crowd chants of “lock her up.”

155. “Don't forget, she got a subpoena from the United States Congress, and then after getting the subpoena, she destroyed everything that she was supposed to get. 

Clinton aides requested emails be deleted months before the subpoena, and the FBI said there’s no evidence the messages were deleted with a subpoena in mind. — Carrie Johnson

156. “I thought it was so bad to take her, and put her in jail, the wife of a president of the United States. And then, when it's my turn, nobody thinks that way.”

The Justice Department closed an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct some State Department business in 2016. Then-FBI Director Jim Comey gave a press conference to explain his reasoning in July of that election year. Comey said, “We did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information,” but he criticized Clinton and her aides for being “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information” that flowed through the server.

By contrast, prosecutors in the Florida case against former President Donald Trump said Trump had flouted requests from the FBI and a subpoena for highly classified materials he stored in unsecure spaces like a ballroom and a bathroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The indictment in that case accuses Trump of unlawfully retaining government secrets and of intentionally obstructing justice with the help of an aide who moved boxes of materials and otherwise allegedly thwarted the FBI probe. Trump and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty. The Justice Department says it is appealing the district court’s decision to toss the case on constitutional grounds. — Carrie Johnson

157. “A lot of the MAGA, as they call them, but the base. And I think the base is, I think the base is 75% of the country, far beyond the Republican Party.”

Rounding up, Trump won 46% of the vote in 2016 and 47% of the vote in 2020. He has a high floor, but a low ceiling politically. Majorities continue to say they have an unfavorable rating of Trump, which has been consistent for years. No American presidential candidate has ever gotten 75% of the vote in this country, dating back to 1824 since data was kept for popular votes. Lyndon B. Johnson got 61% in 1964, Richard Nixon slightly less than 61% in 1972, Ronald Reagan 59% in 1984. Since then, Barack Obama got nearly 53% in 2008 and 51% in 2012, the first candidate since Eisenhower to win at least 51% of the vote twice.

158. “My sons are members, and I guess indirectly I'm a member, too.”

Trump here is talking about membership in the National Rifle Association. Another family member being an NRA member does not make someone else an NRA member “indirectly.”

159. “She served 24 years for being on a phone call having to do with drugs. You know who I'm talking about. She was great. And she had another 24 years to go. And it was largely about marijuana, which in many cases is now legalized, OK?”

Presumably, Trump is talking about Alice Marie Johnson, who had been convicted on cocaine conspiracy and money laundering charges . Kim Kardashian advocated for Johnson and won a pardon for her from Trump.

160. “They're either really stupid, and I don't believe they're stupid, because anybody that can cheat in elections like they cheat is not stupid.”

More than 60 court cases proved there was not widespread fraud or cheating that would have made any difference in any state.

161. “Lately I've seen where they're trying to sign these people up to vote. And they have to stop. They cannot let illegal immigrants vote in this upcoming election.”

This is a conspiracy not based in fact. Immigrants in the country illegally cannot vote in presidential elections, and there’s no evidence there is an intentional effort to sign them up in mass numbers to sway elections.

162. “If you go to California, and you ask the people of California, do they like the idea of sanctuary cities? They don't like it.”

The subject of sanctuary cities actually mostly splits Californians. Slim majorities have actually said that they favor the sanctuary-state law and are against their cities opting out of the law. Of course, this breaks down along party lines, and since California is heavily Democratic, those results might not be surprising. But it’s more divided than Trump suggests.

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Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war

September 10, 2024 1:00 AM EDT

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The Israel-Gaza war has taken an unprecedented toll on Gazan journalists since Israel  declared war  on Hamas following its  attack  against Israel on October 7, 2023.

As of September 10, 2024, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 116 journalists and media workers were among the more than 42,000 killed — 40,800 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis — since the war began, making it the  deadliest period for journalists  since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

• See CPJ’s database of the full list of journalists and media workers killed in the Israel-Gaza war

Journalists in Gaza face particularly  high  risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine , the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s population , and the destruction of 80% of its buildings. CPJ is investigating more than 130 additional cases of potential killings, arrests and injuries, but many are difficult to document amid these harsh conditions.

“Since the war in Gaza started, journalists have been paying the highest price – their lives – for their reporting. Without protection, equipment, international presence, communications, or food and water, they are still doing their crucial jobs to tell the world the truth,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna in New York. “Every time a journalist is killed, injured, arrested, or forced to go to exile, we lose fragments of the truth. Those responsible for these casualties face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.”

Journalists are civilians and are protected by International Law. Deliberately targeting civilians constitutes a war crime. In May, the International Criminal Court announced it was seeking  arrest warrant  applications for Hamas and Israeli leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

To date, CPJ has determined that at least five journalists were directly targeted by Israeli forces in killings which CPJ classifies as murders:  Issam Abdallah ,  Hamza Al Dahdouh ,  Mustafa Thuraya ,  Ismail Al Ghoul , and  Rami Al Refee . CPJ is still researching the details for confirmation in at least 10 other cases that indicate possible targeting.

As of September 10:

• 116 journalists and media workers were confirmed killed: 111 Palestinian, two Israeli, and three Lebanese.
• 35 journalists were reported injured.
• 2 journalists were reported missing.
• 54 journalists were reported  arrested .
• Multiple assaults, threats, cyberattacks, censorship, and killings of family members .

CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.

The list of killed journalists documented in our database includes names based on information obtained from CPJ’s sources in the region and media reports. It includes all journalists * involved in news-gathering activity. It is not always immediately clear whether all of these journalists were covering the conflict at the time of their deaths, but CPJ has included them in its count as it investigates their circumstances.

The list is being updated on a regular basis, with names being removed if CPJ confirms that those members of the media were not working journalists at the time they were killed, injured, or went missing. 

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials have repeatedly told  media   outlets  that the army does not deliberately target journalists. It also told  agencies  shortly after the war started that it could not guarantee the safety of journalists. CPJ  has called  for an end to the longstanding  pattern of impunity  in cases of journalists killed by the IDF.    

United Nations experts have  raised concerns  over the killings of journalists, saying in a February statement that they were “alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza, in recent months blatantly disregarding international law.”

The lists below detail those injured and missing in the Israel-Gaza war:

CPJ is aware that dozens of Palestinian journalists were injured during the war. CPJ counts the journalists cases it was able to document, and continues to investigate other cases.

August 26, 2024

Mohammed Al-Za’anin

Al-Za’anin, a 40-year-old Palestinian journalist who works as a camera operator for the Turkish-owned TRT Arabic broadcaster, was injured when shrapnel from a missile struck his left eye after an Israeli strike on a house next to the TRT temporary office located in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip. Al-Za’anin’s assistant, Mohammed Karajah, was also injured in the incident, according to multiple media reports and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ.

The office is currently located in a warehouse facing Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

Al-Za’anin has been a camera operator and a photographer for 19 years. He was on assignment in the south of the Gaza strip in the early days of the war and remained there as a displaced person when the war unfolded.

“We were near Nasser Hospital when an Israeli warplane struck near us,” Al-Za’nin told CPJ by phone. “I was injured by shrapnel that penetrated my left eye and has not yet come out, and my assistant, Mohammed Karajah, was injured by shrapnel in his left leg. The doctors were able to remove it and he left the hospital.”

Al-Za’anin said that he walked on foot after his injury to Nasser Hospital because of its proximity to the office, and that he is still being treated there after undergoing surgery, but told CPJ he needs an operation outside Gaza to extract the shrapnel due to the lack of capabilities in the strip.

The Turkish foreign ministry posted on X about the incident, saying “the attacks on TRT members in Gaza are an Israeli effort to cover up the truth, with its hands stained with blood. We stand with all members of the press who are working with all their might to make Israel’s cruelty known to the world. We extend our best wishes to the TRT members and the TRT family who were injured in the latest attack.”

Mohammed Karajah

Karajah, a -32-year-old Palestinian media worker who works as an assistant photographer for the Turkish-owned TRT Arabic broadcaster was injured by shrapnel from Israeli missiles when an Israeli airstrike hit a nearby house to the TRT temporary office located in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, according to multiple media reports and his colleague Mohammed Al-Za’anin, who was also injured and spoke to CPJ.

Karajah was displaced from the Bureij Palestinian refugee camp east of the central Gaza Strip to the neighboring city of Deir al-Balah.

August 18, 2024

Salma Al Qaddoumi

Al Qaddoumi, a freelance Palestinian journalist, who works with multiple outlets including the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, Al Jazeera, and AFP news agency, was injured when an Israeli tank fired towards a group of journalists reporting in the Hamad city area, northwest of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to news reports . Freelance journalist Ibrahim Muhareb was also killed in the incident.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate posted a description by journalist Rasha Ahmed of the incident. Ahmed said she was one of five journalists on assignment together when a military tank suddenly advanced from the Al-Hawz area in the northwestern part of Hamad city and opened heavy fire on them. Some reporters lay on the ground for more than five minutes due to the intense gunfire, until they were “miraculously” able to get out. Al-Qaddoumi also tried to run, unaware that her back was injured, but fell to the ground. Ahmed and another journalist Saeed Al-Lulu rescued Al-Qaddoumi and found a cart and then a car to transport her to hospital, the PJS report said.

On August 19, Al-Qaddoumi told CPJ by phone that the group of journalists reported from “a place far from the presence of tanks” but “a number of tanks suddenly appeared in the area after filming had ended.”

“The tanks fired shells and bullets at us, and Ibrahim was hit directly. He asked me to help him leave the place, and I went with one of the displaced people in the area to rescue him, but the tanks fired more shells and bullets at us. At that moment, I was hit in the back by two (pieces of) shrapnel, either from the shells or the bullets. I then lost consciousness and found myself in the hospital,” she told CPJ.

Sami Barhoom

Barhoom, a Palestinian correspondent for the Turkish state-owned broadcaster TRT Arabic was injured by shrapnel from Israeli sniper bullets when he and a colleague were reporting in southern Gaza, according to news reports and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate .

“I was on a field mission to prepare a report with camera operator Hazem al-Baz about the cemeteries being full and the lack of graves to accommodate the martyrs in the Austrian neighborhood northwest of Khan Yunis,” Barhoom told CPJ by phone. “We finished and headed to another mission near Hamad city, west of Khan Yunis, at exactly 2:00 p.m.”

“Although the car was marked “Press” and “TV” and we were (both) wearing a “Press” jacket and helmet, we were surprised by direct fire on our car … The first shot hit the right door of the car, so I knew it was a targeted attack because the gunfire was hitting the sand very heavily,” he said, referring to the desert sand they were driving over.

“We tried to get out of the car to hide, but as soon as we tried to get out of it, the bullets hit the front window of the car at the level of our heads, and it was clear that the target was to kill,” he said.

Barhoom said the pair managed to get out of the car, which was hit by five bullets, and took cover in a nearby shelter for an hour until it was safe to leave. In April, Barhoom was one of four journalists injured by Israeli shelling while reporting in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. His TRT Arabic colleague Sami Shehadeh lost a leg in the incident.

May 21, 2024

Amro Manasrah

Manasrah, a freelance photographer working with the local Palestine Post outlet and the regional Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen broadcaster, was hit in the back by an Israeli  bullet that ricocheted off the wall next to him as he and other journalists were reporting on an Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, according to Palestine Post , Al Jazeera , and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ.

Manasrah, who was wearing a press vest, told CPJ via phone call after he was hospitalized, that the bullet hit a wall next to him and ricocheted, hitting him in the back. Manasrah said that only journalists were in the area and were visible to IDF soldiers. Manasrah was later released from the hospital on the same day.

Journalist Obada Tahayneh, a freelance reporter for Al Jazeera Mubashar who was at the scene, told CPJ over the phone that “there were approximately 20 journalists present at the scene, only 150 meters away from IDF soldiers. Seven of us moved towards the nearby hospital, when we heard shots fired. We ran and hid next to a wall, and shortly after I saw Manasrah on the ground.” Tahayneh added that he is still “in shock” from being so close to the shooting and witnessing Manasrah’s injury.

April 12, 2024

Sami Shehadeh, cameraman, TRT Arabic injured by an Israeli shell while reporting in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, which led to the loss of his right leg.

Sami Barhoom, TRT Arabic reporter, injured by an Israeli shell while reporting in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Ahmad Harb was on duty for Al Arabiya TV at the time of the incident and was injured by the Israeli shell.

CNN stringer Mohammad Al-Sawalhi was struck by shrapnel, resulting in a slight injury to his right hand and bruising on his left leg.

March 31, 2024

Freelance photojournalist Ali Hamad, whose back was hit with missile shrapnel in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Freelance photojournalist Saeed Jars, whose knee was hit by shrapnel in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Freelance photojournalist Naaman Shteiwi suffered minor facial injuries in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Zain Media cameraperson Mohammed Abu Dahrouj was seriously injured in the leg in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Freelance photojournalist Nafez Abu Labda suffered a leg injury in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Al-Aqsa photographer Ibrahim Labad suffered leg injuries in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Al Jazeera photographer Hazem Mazeed, who suffered leg injuries in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital .

Freelance photojournalist Magdi Qaraqea was also injured in the attack in an attack on Al-Aqsa hospital , according to CPJ sources. Those sources did not specify his injuries.

January 7, 2024

Hazem Rajab , injured by the same strike that killed Mustafa Thuraya and Hamza Al Dahdouh on January 7, 2024.

Amer Abu Amr , injured in an Israeli strike on January 7, 2024, several minutes before the one that killed Thuraya and Al Dahdouh.

Ahmed al-Bursh , injured in an Israeli strike on January 7, 2024, several minutes before the one that killed Thuraya and Al Dahdouh.

December 23, 2023

Khader Marquez

Marquez, a cameraman for Lebanon’s Hezbollah-owned TV channel Al-Manar was injured after shrapnel from an Israeli missile hit his car on the Khardali road of south Lebanon, injuring his left eye, according to Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, who was with Marquez, posted about the incident on social media , and spoke to the privately-owned Beirut-based Al-Jadeed TV . The incident also was reported by the privately owned Lebanese Annahar newspaper , the Beirut based press freedom group SKeyes , the National News Agency , and multiple news reports .

December 19, 2023

Islam Bader

Bader , a Palestinian reporter and presenter for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa channel, and a contributor to multiple media outlets including the Qatari-funded Al-Araby TV, was injured in the right shoulder and hip in an Israeli airstrike on Block 2 of the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, on December 19, according to the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat , Al-Araby TV , and Palestine TV . His colleague Mohamed Ahmed was injured in the same strike. A video posted by Al Jazeera shows the two journalists being treated in Jabalia medical center after the attack. Another video posted by the local Palestine Post website shows Bader and Ahmed lying on the floor of the medical center frowning in pain.

Bader told Al-Araby TV that he was injured by three pieces of shrapnel in his shoulder, and hip.

Bader and Ahmed are among the few journalists still reporting from northern Gaza.

Mohamed Ahmed

Ahmed, a Palestinian reporter for the Hamas-affiliated Shehab agency and photographer for the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa channel, was injured in the left thigh in an Israeli airstrike on Block 2 of the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, on December 19, according to the London based pan Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat , Al-Araby TV , and Palestine TV . His colleague Islam Bader was injured in the same strike. A video posted by Al Jazeera shows the two journalists being treated in Jabalia medical center right after their injury. Another video posted by the local Palestine Post website shows Bader and Ahmed lying on the floor of the medical center frowning in pain.

December 16, 2023

Mohamed Balousha

Balousha, a reporter for the Emirati-owned Dubai-based Al Mashahd TV, was shot in the thigh while reporting on the war from northern Gaza on December 16, 2023. According to his outlet Al Mashhad , Al Jazeera , and the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate , the bullet was fired by an Israeli sniper. Balousha said in a video about his injury that he lost consciousness for about 30 minutes after “six hours of agony” and was roused by the nuzzling of cats he was feeding before the shooting. Al Mashhad said that Israeli forces intercepted the ambulances sent to evacuate him, delaying his transfer to a hospital for treatment. In late November, Balousha broke a story that four premature babies left behind at al-Nasr Children’s Hospital died and their bodies had decomposed after Israel forced the staff to evacuate without ambulances. Balousha accused Israel of directly targeting him. “I was wearing everything to prove that I was a journalist, but they deliberately targeted me, and now I am struggling to get the treatment necessary to preserve my life,” he told The Washington Post.

December 15, 2023

Wael Al Dahdouh

The Gaza bureau chief for Al Jazeera, Al Dahdouh was injured by a drone strike while covering the aftermath of nightly Israeli strikes on a UN school sheltering displaced people in the center of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, according to reports by their Al Jazeera , Middle East Eye , and Reuters . Dahdoh was hit with shrapnel in his hand and waist and treated at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. His colleague, camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa, was killed in the same strike.

Mustafa Alkharouf

Alkharouf, a photographer with the Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency, was covering Friday prayers near Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on December 15 when a group of Israeli police and soldiers attacked him, according to Anadolu Agency , footage shared by The Union of Journalists in Israel, and the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency WAFA . Soldiers initially brandished their weapons at Alkharouf, punched him, and then threw him to the ground, kicking him. Alkharouf sustained severe blows, resulting in injuries to his face and body, and was transported by ambulance and treated at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.

November 18, 2023

Mohammed El Sawwaf

Mohammed El Sawwaf , an award-winning Palestinian film producer and director who founded the Gaza-based Alef Multimedia production company, was injured in an Israeli airstrike on his home in Shawa Square in Gaza City. The airstrike killed 30 members of his family, including his mother and his father, Mostafa Al Sawaf, who was also a journalist, according to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate , Anadolu Agency , and TRT Arabic .

Montaser El Sawaf

Montaser El Sawaf, a Palestinian freelance photographer contributing to Anadolu Agency, was injured in the same Israeli airstrike that injured his brother, Mohammed El Sawwaf and killed their parents and 28 other family members, according to the Anadolu Agency , the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate , and TRT Arabic .

November 13, 2023

Issam Mawassi

Al Jazeera videographer Mawassi was injured after two Israeli missiles struck near journalists in Yaroun in southern Lebanon covering clashes, which also resulted in damage to the journalists’ cars in the area, according to multiple media reports , some of which show the journalists live on air the minute the second missile hit the area. CPJ reached out to Mawassi via a messaging app but didn’t receive any response.

October 13, 2023

Thaer Al-Sudani Al-Sudani, a journalist for Reuters, was injured in the same attack that killed Abdallah near the border in southern Lebanon, Reuters said . Maher Nazeh Nazeh, a journalist for Reuters, was also injured in the same southern Lebanon attack. Elie Brakhya

Brakhya, an Al Jazeera TV staff member, was injured as well in the southern Lebanon shelling, Al Jazeera TV said . Carmen Joukhadar Joukhadar, an Al Jazeera TV reporter, was also wounded in the southern Lebanon attack. Christina Assi

Assi, a photographer for the French news agency Agence France-Press (AFP), was injured in that same attack on southern Lebanon, according to AFP and France 24 . Dylan Collins

Dylan Collins, a video journalist for AFP, was also injured in the southern Lebanon shelling .

October 7, 2023

Ibrahim Qanan

Qanan, a correspondent for Al-Ghad channel, was injured by shrapnel in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to MADA and JSC.

CPJ safety advisories

As we continue to monitor the war in Israel/Gaza, journalists who have questions about their safety and security can contact us [email protected] .

For more information, read:

• Physical Safety: War Reporting
• Physical and digital safety: Civil Disorder
• Psychological Safety
• Physical and digital safety: Arrest and detention

These are available in multiple languages, including Arabic.

Nidal Al-Wahidi

Nidal Al-Wahidi , a cameraman and photographer in Gaza for the Nablus-based Palestinian broadcaster An-Najah Nbc Channel, went missing near the Erez crossing, known in Gaza as the Beit Hanoun crossing, while reporting on Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 according to news reports , the Palestinian press freedom organization MADA , and a video interview with his father, Suhail Al-Wahidi, on Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera Mubasher. 

On assignment? Yes

Haitham Abdelwahid

Haitham Abdelwahid , a cameraman and video editor for Ain Media, a Gaza production company, went missing near the Erez crossing, known locally as the Beit Hanoun crossing, while reporting on Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to news reports , his employer , and the Palestinian press freedom organization MADA .

Clarifications and corrections:

*Definition of a journalist : CPJ’s research and documentation covers all journalists, defined as individuals involved in news-gathering activity. This definition covers those working for a broad range of publicly and privately funded news outlets, as well as freelancers. In the cases CPJ has documented, multiple sources have found no evidence to date that any journalist was engaged in militant activity.

On February 6, 2024, Canadian-Palestinian journalist Mansour Shouman was found alive after being reported missing more than two weeks before. We have removed him from our list of missing journalists.

According to CPJ’s research, Israeli journalist Oded Lifschitz wasn’t working when he was taken as a hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023. CPJ removed his name from the list of missing journalists after contacting the family.

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Journalism personal statement example 2.

The media's the most powerful entity on earth. An interesting quote from Malcolm X, who also claimed, Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world. I wish to combine these two passions and follow my ambition to become a journalist by continuing my studies into Higher Education. It is well known that power attracts and I, like many others, have become enchanted by the power of the written and spoken word. This fascination has created a deep interest in writing, and Journalism provides the perfect outlet to develop my skills.

Ive heard enough about the media industry to realise that experience is everything, and as Sixth Form Reporter on the College committee, I gain regular experience of journalistic writing and meeting deadlines. I have written for the official college Network, which is sent home to parents, and the Student Newspaper.

When selecting my A Level subjects, I seemed drawn to essay based courses. I enjoy writing and the courses undoubtedly helped my writing skills. However, I was required to make the opening of a film in Media, which was an experience to say the least! It increased my interest in Broadcast Journalism. Until that moment, I only had eyes for Print. Creative writing has always been one of my favourite aspects of English, and the coursework gave me the chance to write in whichever style I chose, one piece was a newspaper feature on Chelsea Football Club. I have always been interested in Sports Writing and I'm considering specialising in it at a later date.

I have chosen to continue four of my five AS Levels onto A2, even though it was not necessary. I have always found Psychology quite challenging as it involves deep levels of critical analysis, so I decided to carry on as I find it extremely intriguing. The different theories as to why humans do the things they do, attract me because I am interested in how people act, though one could hardly call me an anthropologist! My main priorities are English, Media and Sociology as I feel they will aid me most in my ambition, although I still find Psychology a fascinating subject.

I have often said that nothing is impossible, yet asking me to name my favourite book is asking too much. Some much-loved literature includes The Hobbit, Gone With The Wind, and Jane Eyre. In my opinion a good novel should evoke a variety of emotions from beginning to end. Music may not be my first love, but it is definitely one of my passions; I have high passes in grade 3 flute, singing, and grade 5 piano. Like my literary tastes, my choice of music is eclectic; I like anything from hip-hop to classical, soul to rock, and past to present.

I also love Black history, musicals, and icons of film and music, such as Audrey Hepburn, John Lennon, and Sinatra. Lennon once said, We all want to change the world, I empathise with this view and seek to achieve it using my chosen profession and the power of the media.

Profile info

There is no profile associated with this personal statement, as the writer has requested to remain anonymous.

Related Personal Statements

I found this interesting, a.

Fri, 16/09/2005 - 00:00

I found this interesting, a little disjointed. And full of opinion. They wouldn't want that much opinion, it's slightly too colloquial and chatty.

I prefer the other one.

Just a note:-

Sat, 17/09/2005 - 00:00

The author of this personal statement was awarded offers from all 6 Universities they applied to and is reading Multimedia Journalism at Bournemouth - obviously it was good enough for those Universities.

Sun, 20/08/2006 - 00:00

hey, they got into university didn't they?

probably on grades though as

Mon, 04/09/2006 - 00:00

probably on grades though as opose to the statement

i thought this is a brilliant

Mon, 18/09/2006 - 00:00

i thought this is a brilliant p.s. & the fact that he got 6 out of 6 offers, the universities obviously liked it too.

ironically i have done the exact same A levels as this person, this personal statement will be incredibly valuable for inspiration when writing my own.

Wed, 08/11/2006 - 22:15

what did the person get for his AS grades?

oh and also A2, his final A

Wed, 08/11/2006 - 22:17

oh and also A2, his final A-level grades, where you one of the early ones to apply?

Sun, 11/02/2007 - 15:13

Advise i have read on writing persomal statments says you shouldn't use famous quotes, and this person did in their first sentance!

I found the other statement

Sat, 01/09/2007 - 19:00

I found the other statement to busy and it was just as chatty as this one. They have not really been of much help to me, but it was nice to have had a glimpse of the personalities of other's who share the same career aims as me, as most of my friends either want to be doctors, lawyers or textile designers. They weren't too bad I would say!

Fri, 19/10/2007 - 12:58

we found this very enlightnening the malcolm x quote was wicked.

love az uk x

I suppose the thing that the

Mon, 29/10/2007 - 14:37

I suppose the thing that the other reviewers find puts them off might be that because this ps is full of opinions, other people's quotes and is very personal, it sounds a bit like a dreamer wrote it, and this makes it seem a bit unprofessional. But since a ps is the only route to express yourself, I think it works because I found I quite liked the friendly, confident attitude behind the words, and found this very helpful.

Lacks Creativity

Tue, 30/10/2007 - 19:37

First of all, well done with your PS! It has taken me 3 days to finally sit in front of the computer and actually start writing mine, but that's because I'm too perfectionist! ANYWAY, your ps is too obvious! The structure is too basic and you should have chosen a different style as you are applying for journalism! What i mean is that you have to stand out, make your life sound interesting and not only list facts events and quotes :)! But hey, come on, the ps is pretty good :)! Good luck dude :)

lacks creativity

Fri, 02/11/2007 - 21:08

are we journalists or creative writers?

I wouldn't criticise the

Mon, 05/11/2007 - 21:03

I wouldn't criticise the Personal Statements too much, seeing as you actually came to this site because you are inexperienced and need help to write your own. Just be aware that the makers of this website only publish successful personal statements.

re last comment

Wed, 07/11/2007 - 14:34

couldnt of said it better myself

"probably on grades though as

Sat, 10/11/2007 - 11:34

"probably on grades though as opose to the statement" - If you read any personal statement advice, you will clearly see that grades, although being a good indicator of a hard worker, only form part of the opinion when being chosen for a place. If it was based on high grades, then there would be no need for a statement. But I can bet that if the personal statement was that bad, whatever grades they got would not have guaranteed them a place in the university.

Wed, 28/11/2007 - 09:48

You having a laugh mate, you having a laugh?

You having a laugh mate? You

Wed, 28/11/2007 - 10:03

You having a laugh mate? You having a laugh!

Mon, 07/01/2008 - 17:25

Well obviously you and your

Tue, 09/09/2008 - 18:49

Well obviously you and your 'mates' are cpmlete idiots, what if the expirement went wrong and you got rejected huh?

Your trying to act clever, although you sound like a complete idiot.

Thu, 25/09/2008 - 15:29

too many quotes, no one cares

Thu, 16/10/2008 - 14:51

everyone needS to calm down , ur probably jus hating cos he got accepted. the guy done well and seems very intelligent which is probably why he got accepted his personal statement shows he is dedicated and has a passion for media.So i dno y some of u people are sayin bad things. dont HATE,CONGRATULATE.

the malcolm x quote was

Tue, 11/11/2008 - 14:35

the malcolm x quote was terrible, and how did they apply for 6 uni's?

Wow, there's alot of 'haters'

Tue, 27/10/2009 - 14:33

Wow, there's alot of 'haters' on this personal statement. I think it's extreamly well written, and although it goes against alot of personal statement writing tips, it's brilliant, in my opinion and obviously others seen as this person got offers from all the universities they applied for. Why would anyone want to read through the same stereotypical personal statements over and over again, this provides an entertaining read and is informative about the person. i like it.

LOL, i just typed in 'media

Fri, 30/10/2009 - 13:26

LOL, i just typed in 'media quotes' into google and tht malcolm X quote you've used on your 1st line was the 1st result that popped up! Didn't research hard for that :P

No thankyou.

Tue, 16/03/2010 - 18:25

I thought this was delightfully erotic. Reading it, I come over all giddy and weak at the knees as if he's trying to lure me into bed. I bet he has a long nose, spazzy hair, and a lisp.

wow! u people are so creul

Thu, 27/05/2010 - 13:07

wow! u people are so creul and it seems awfully jelous of this persons success. i totally agree that had u had the intellect to devise ur own personal statements without any help then u wouldnt be looking through google for inspiration. so dont hate, appreciate. and plz stop being a bunch of sour grapes. also i dont no how u can come up with a 'erotic' twist to this. alongside jelousy it seems you people are freaky and wierd!

This statement is very

Fri, 14/01/2011 - 01:14

This statement is very contradictory; its pretty much half good and half bad! You do a good job of talking about the work you've done in relation to journalism, yet you show no real committment or enthusiasm to it as you talk to generally and equally about your other passions, almost as though you'd be just as happy to do study music or literature. - Just my opinion, good on you for recieving six offers! :)

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