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"...this book can be recommended to journalism students as a useful entry point into many of the debates surrounding 21st century journalism, and as a way of encouraging thought about what, indeed, a journalist may be." Tony Harcup, University of Sheffield What are the key issues confronting journalism today, and why? What are the important debates regarding the forms and practices of reporting? How can the quality of news be improved? Journalism: Critical Issues explores essential themes in news and journalism studies. It bringstogether an exciting selection of original essays which engage with the most significant topics,debates and controversies in this fast-growing field.Using a wide range of case studies, topics include: Journalism's role in a democracy Source dynamics in news production Journalism ethics Sexism and racism in the news Tabloidization, scandals and celebrity Reporting conflict, terrorism and war The future of investigative journalism The book is written in a lively manner designed to invite discussion by identifying key questionsaround a critical issue.Each chapter assesses where journalism is today, its strengths and itschallenges, and highlights ways to improve upon it for tomorrow. Journalism: Critical Issues is essential reading for students and researchers in the fields ofnews and journalism, media studies, cultural studies, sociology and communication studies. Contributors: Stuart Allan, Alison Anderson, Olga Guedes Bailey, Steven Barnett,Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Michael Bromley, Cynthia Carter, Simon Cottle, Chas Critcher,Matthew David, Maire Messenger Davies, Bob Franklin, Robert A. Hackett, RamaswamiHarindranath, Ian Hutchby, Richard Keeble, Justin Lewis, Minelle Mahtani, P. David Marshall,Brian McNair, Martin Montgomery, Alan Petersen, Susanna Hornig Priest, Jane Rhodes,Karen Ross, David Rowe, Prasun Sonwalkar, Linda Steiner, Howard Tumber, Ingrid Volkmer,Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, Barbie Zelizer.

Contents

Introduction; Hidden in Plain Sight: Journalism's Critical Issues; Part I: Journalism's Histories; Intimately Intertwined in the Most Public Way: Celebrity and Journalism; Race, Ideology and Journalism: Black Power and Television News; The 'Gender Matters' Debate in Journalism: Lessons from the Front; Journalism Ethics: Towards an Orwellian Critique? News on the Web: The Emerging Forms and Practices of Online Journalism; Part II: Journalism and Democracy; Is There a Democratic Deficit in US and UK Journalism?; Active Citizen or Coach Potato? Journalism and Public Opinion; In Defense of 'Thick' Journalism: Or How Television Journalism Can Be Good For Us; Fourth Estate or Fan Club?; Sports Journalism Engages the Popular; McJournalism: The Local Press and the McDonaldization Thesis; The Emerging Chaos of Global News Culture; Part III: Journalism's Realities Journalism Through the Camera's Eye; Mighty Dread: Journalism and Moral Panics; Communication or Spin?; Source - Media Relations in Science Journalism; Risk Reporting: Why Can't They Ever Get it Right?; News Talk: Interaction in the Broadcast News Interview; 'A Fresh Peach is Easier to Bruise': Children and Traumatic News; Part IV: Journalism and the Politics of Othering; Talking War: How Journalism Responded to the Events of 9/11; Banal Journalism: The Centrality of the 'Us-Them' Binary in News Discourse; Racialised 'Othering': The Representation of Asylum Seekers in the News Media; Women in the Boyzone: Gender, News and Herstory; Gendered News Practices: Examining Experiences of Women Journalists in Different National Contexts; Part V: Journalism and the Public Interest; Subterfuge as Public Service: Investigative Journalism as Idealized Journalism; Opportunity or Threat?; The BBC, Investigative Journalism and the Hutton Report, Journalism, Media Conglomerates and the Federal Communications Commission; News in the Global Public Space; Journalism and the War in Iraq.