Public Journalism 2.0: The Promise and Reality of a Citizen Engaged Press

by Jack Rosenberry (Editor), Burton St John (Editor)

Overview

Where does journalism fit in the media landscape of blogs, tweets, Facebook postings, YouTube videos, and literally billions of Web pages?

Public Journalism 2.0 examines the ways that civic or public journalism is evolving, especially as audience-created content—sometimes referred to as citizen journalism or participatory journalism—becomes increasingly prominent in contemporary media. As the contributors to this edited volume demonstrate, the mere use of digital technologies is not the fundamental challenge of a new citizen-engaged journalism; rather, a depper understanding of how civic/public journalism can inform citizen-propelled initiatives is required.

Through a mix of original research, essays, interviews, and case studies, this collection establishes how public journalism principles and practices offer journalists, scholars, and citizens insights into how digital technology and other contemporary practices can increase civic engagement and improve public life. Each chapter concludes with pedagogical features including:

* Theoretical Implications highlighting the main theoretical lessons from each chapter,

* Practical Implications applying the chapter's theoretical findings to the practice of citizen-engaged jouranlis,

*Reflection Questions prompting the reader to consider how to extend the theory and application of the chapter.

blogging and other participatory journalism practices enabled by digital technology are not always in line with the original vision of public journalism, which strives to report news in such a way as to promote civic engagement by its audience. Public Journalism 2.0 seeks to reinvent public journalism for the 21st century and to offer visions of how digital technology can be enlisted to promote civic involvement in the news.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135966089
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/16/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	893 KB

About the Author

Jack Rosenberry is Associate Professor and Chair of Communication and Journalism at St. John Fisher College. He is co-author of Applied Mass Communication Theory: A Guide for Media Practitioners.

Burton St. John III is Assistant Professor of Communication at Old Dominion University.

Table of Contents

1.Introduction: Public Journalism Values in an Age of Media Fragmentation, Jack Rosenberry and Burton St. John III

Part I: The Roots of Civic and Citizen Journalism

2. Newspapers and Communities: The Vital Link, James K. Batten

3. What Citizen Journalism Can Learn from Public Journalism, Davis "Buzz" Merritt

4. Citizen Journalism in an Historical Frame, David M. Ryfe and Donica Mensing

5.The Citizen Journalist as Gatekeeper: A Critical Evolution, Aaron Barlow

Open Source Interview: The Evolution of Public Journalism, Lewis A. Friedland

Part II: Contemporary Civic and Citizen Journalism

6. News Quality Differences in Online Newspaper and Citizen Journalism Sites, Serena Carpenter

7. The Virginian-Pilot’s Co-Pilot Pages: Participatory Journalism and the Dilemma of Private Values as Public News, Burton St. John III

8. Citizen Journalism in the Community and the Classroom, Kirsten A. Johnson

9. The Changing Face of News in a Major U.S. City: Hyper-Local Web Sites Try to Fill the Void in Chicago, Suzanne McBride

Open Source Interview: Online Dialogue, Public Life and Citizen Journalism, Tanni Haas

Part III: Looking Ahead: Public Journalism 2.0

10. Routinization of Charisma: The Institutionalization of Public Journalism Online, Joyce Y.M. Nip

11. Common Knowledge, Civic Engagement and Online News Organizations, Jack Rosenberry

12. Madison Commons 2.0: A Platform for Tomorrow’s Civic and Citizen Journalism, Sue Robinson, Cathy DeShano, Nakho Kim and Lewis A. Friedland

Open Source Interview: Civic and Citizen Journalism’s Distinctions, Jan Schaffer

13. Conclusion: A Place for the Professionals, Jack Rosenberry and Burton St. John III

Appendix: Further Readings

List of Contributors

Index