Public Journalism 2.0: The Promise and Reality of a Citizen Engaged Press / Edition 1

by Jack Rosenberry, Burton St John

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:	9780415801836
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/17/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

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

Acknowledgments and Special Editor's Note x

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

Part I The Roots of Civic and Citizen Journalism 9

2 Newspapers and Communities: The Vital Link James K. Batten 13

3 What Citizen Journalism Can Learn from Public Journalism Davis "Buzz" Merritt 21

4 Citizen Journalism in a Historical Frame David M. Ryfe Donica Mensing 32

5 The Citizen Journalist as Gatekeeper: A Critical Evolution Aaron Barlow 45

Open Source Interview: The Evolution of Public Journalism Lewis A. Friedland 56

Part II Contemporary Civic and Citizen journalism 67

6 News Quality Differences in Online Newspaper and Citizen Journalism Sites Serena Carpenter 69

7 The Virginian-Pilot's Co-Pilot Pages: Participatory Journalism and the Dilemma of Private Values as Public News Burton St. John III 84

8 Citizen Journalism in the Community and the Classroom Kirsten A. Johnson 99

9 The Changing Face of News in a Major U.S. City: Hyper-Local Websites Try to Fill the Void in Chicago Suzanne Mcbride 113

Open Source Interview: Online Dialogue, Public Life and Citizen Journalism Tanni Haas 126

Part III Looking Ahead: Public journalism 2.0 133

10 Routinization of Charisma: The Institutionalization of Public Journalism Online Joyce Y.M. Nip 135

11 Common Knowledge, Civic Engagement and Online News Organizations Jack Rosenberry 149

12 Madison Commons 2.0: A Platform for Tomorrow's Civic and Citizen Journalism Sue Robinson Cathy Deshano Nakho Kim Lewis A. Friedland 162

Open Source Interview: Civic and Citizen Journalism's Distinctions Jan Schaffer 176

13 Conclusion: A Place for the Professionals Jack Rosenberry Burton St. John III 183

Appendix: Further Readings 188

List of Contributors 190

Index 195