Since mid-2001 I have been a dedicated reader of BBC news, The Economist, Harpers, and the NY Times. I also try to pick up a variety of different publications to fill the gaps and to get a varied perspective. This has given me a general sense of the underlying structure of the process of journalism (and the masses of professionals who ignore this process). However, in the first week or so of sitting in a working newsroom listening to the editorial staff knock together the day's stories it became clear that I needed to go to school on what makes up good journalism.
The editor in chief ordered a copy of The Elements of Journalism for me and I highly recommend it to readers who wants to take their understanding of the media landscape to a higher level. The authors interview hundreds of experienced journalists, gathering their experience in the field and distilling it into a small set of guidelines with many supporting examples. Though media on media coverage is often a bit too "inside baseball" for comfort, the 200 or so pages of Elements of Journalism have an easy cadence and their contents are as advertised in the subtitle: "What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect."
Here are the elements of journalism (more here):
1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth
2. Its first loyalty is to citizens
3. Its essence is a discipline of verification
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience
