Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Towards a Functional Perspective on Journalism's Role and RelevanceMarcel Broersma and Chris PetersPart I: Journalism and Its Societal Role Chapter 1 Reconstructing Journalism's Public Rationale Nick CouldryChapter 2 Reappraising Journalism's Normative Foundations John Steel Chapter 3 Establishing the Boundaries of Journalism's Public Mandate Matt CarlsonChapter 4 The Disruption in Journalistic Expertise Zvi Reich and Yigal Godler Chapter 5 New Media, Search Engines and Social Networking Sites as Varieties of Online Gatekeepers Rasmus Kleis NielsenChapter 6 Is There a 'Postmodern Turn' in Journalism? Karin Wahl-JorgensenPart II: Journalism and Its Public RelevanceChapter 7 What Journalism Becomes Mark Deuze and Tamara WitschgeChapter 8 The Journalist as Entrepreneur Jane B. SingerChapter 9 A Journalism of Care Kaori HayashiChapter 10 From Participation to Reciprocity in the Journalist-Audience Relationship Seth C. Lewis, Avery E. Holton and Mark CoddingtonChapter 11 The Gap Between The Media and the Public Pablo J. Boczkowski and Eugenia Mitchelstein Chapter 12 The Rhetorical Illusions of News Chris Peters and Marcel BroersmaAfterword Crisis? What Crisis? Silvio WaisbordAfterword Revisioning Journalism and 'The Pictures in Our Heads' Stuart Allan

It's easy to make a rhetorical case for the value of journalism. Because, it is a necessary precondition for democracy; it speaks to the people and for the people; it informs citizens and enables them to make rational decisions; it functions as their watchdog on government and other powers that be. But does rehashing such familiar rationales bring journalism studies forward? Does it contribute to ongoing discussions surrounding journalism's viability going forth? For all their seeming self-evidence, this book considers what bearing these old platitudes have in the new digital era. It asks whether such hopeful talk really reflects the concrete roles journalism now performs for people in their everyday lives. In essence, it poses questions that strike at the core of the idea of journalism itself. Is there a singular journalism that has one well-defined role in society? Is its public mandate as strong as we think? The internationally-renowned scholars comprising the collection address these recurring concerns that have long-defined the profession and which journalism faces even more acutely today. By discussing what journalism was, is, and (possibly) will be, this book highlights key contemporary areas of debate and tackles on-going anxieties about its future

College of Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Text in English