Thinking Clearly: Cases in Journalistic Decision-Making

by Tom Rosenstiel (Editor), Amy Mitchell (Editor)

Overview

Written by leading professional journalists and classroom-tested at schools of journalism, Thinking Clearly is designed to provoke conversation about the issues that shape the production and presentation of the news in the twenty-first century. These case studies depict real-life moments when people working in the news had to make critical decisions. Bearing on questions of craft, ethics, competition, and commerce, they cover a range of topics—the commercial imperatives of newsroom culture, standards of verification, the competition of public and private interests, including the question of privacy—in a variety of key episodes: Watergate, the Richard Jewell case, John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, and the Columbine shooting, among others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231125888
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	08/13/2003
Pages:	265
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Tom Rosentiel serves as director of The Project for Excellence in Journalism, and as vice chairman for the Committee of Concerned Journalists. He has also been a media critic for the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, and a chief congressional correspondent for Newsweek. His other published works include Warpspeed: America in the Age of Mixed Media, Strange Bedfellows: How Television and the Presidential Candidates Changed American Politics, The Road to Here, and The Beat Goes On: President Clinton's First Year with the Media. Amy S. Mitchell is the associate director of The Project for Excellence in Journalism, where she heads research and educational initiatives.

Table of Contents

Introduction, by James W. Carey
1. McCarthyism, 1950-1954, by John Herbers
2. Internet Journalism and the Starr Investigation, by J.D. Lasica
3. Columbine School Shooting: Live Television Coverage, by Alicia C. Shepard
4. Minnesota Basketball Cheating Case, by Geneva Overholser
5. The Massacre in El Mozote, by Stanley Meisler
6. Watergate, by James M. Perry
7. New Orleans Times-Picayune Series on Racism, by Jack Nelson
8. John McCain's 2000 Presidential Campaign: Political Reporting, by Jon Margolis

What People are Saying About This

Robert Brune

I warmly commend this book to students and teachers, novices and expert hands, writers and their managers, professionals who interact with the news media, and any life-long learner.

— Robert Brune, professor of business administration, Darden Graduate Business School, executive director of the Batten Institute

Todd Gitlin

Exploring a number of key journalistic episodes, in detail, the authors... have done indispensable work. Teachers and students of reporting and ethics will benefit for years to come.

— Todd Gitlin, professor of journalism and sociology, Columbia University