In 1997 the Carnegie-Knight Task Force, then administered by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, began a national conversation to identify and clarify the principles that underlie journalism. After four years of research, including 20 public forums around the country, a national survey of journalists and more, the group released a Statement of Shared Purpose that identified nine principles. These became the basis for The Elements of Journalism, a book by PEJ director Tom Rosenstiel and CCJ chairman and PEJ senior counselor Bill Kovach.
