Rethinking Journalism Again

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.

There is no doubt, journalism faces challenging times. This book argues that we have to rethink journalism fundamentally. Rather than just focus on the symptoms of the 'crisis of journalism', this collection tries to understand the structural transformation journalism is undergoing.

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.

Historically, or so we would like to believe, the story of everyday life for many people included regular, definitive moments of news consumption. Journalism, in fact, was distributed around these routines: papers were delivered before breakfast, the evening news on TV buttressed the transition from dinner to prime time programming, and radio updates were centred around commuting patterns. These habits were organized not just around specific times but occurred in specific places, following a predictable pattern. However, the past few decades have witnessed tremendous changes in the ways we can consume journalism and engage with information – from tablets, to smartphones, online, and so forth – and the different places and moments of news consumption have multiplied as a result, to the point where news is increasingly mobile and instantaneous. It is personalized, localized and available on-demand. Day-by-day, month-by-month, year-by-year, technology moves forward, impacting more than just the ways in which we get news. These fundamental shifts change what news ‘is’. This book expands our understanding of contemporary news audiences and explores how the different places and spaces of news consumption change both our experiences of journalism and the roles it plays in our everyday lives. This book was originally published as a special issue of Journalism Studies.

In the last decade, with the success of review sites and online commentaries and the increased accessibility of travel information online, the job of a traditional travel journalist is being challenged. Travel Journalism closely examines the impact of digital media and technology on this specialist area of journalism and how professionals working in travel media today are adapting to it. Bryan Pirolli draws on a wealth of professional experience to present both practical guidance and a theoretical analysis of travel journalism. Through interviews with content providers – including journalists and bloggers – the book explores new ways of thinking about this profession. Looking at the relationship between travel journalists, social media and influencers, the book asks how travel journalists might rethink their work for more constructive purposes and how they should respond to innovations like the ever-growing sharing economy. The book also explores how journalistic ethics can be preserved as concerns around 'sponsored content' and 'paid influencers' remain widespread. For students and professionals looking to better understand the role of the travel journalist in the digital age, this book is an invaluable resource. Pirolli comprehensively assesses the challenges and the opportunities for success that actors in travel media are now presented with and encourages readers to proactively embrace them.

Leading scholars of media and public life grapple with how to make sense of major transformations rocking media and politics.

The essays in Rethinking Media Change center on a variety of media forms at moments of disruption and cultural transformation. The editors' introduction sketches an aesthetics of media transition—patterns of development and social dispersion that operate across eras, media forms, and cultures. The book includes case studies of such earlier media as the book, the phonograph, early cinema, and television. It also examines contemporary digital forms, exploring their promise and strangeness. A final section probes aspects of visual culture in such environments as the evolving museum, movie spectaculars, and "the virtual window." The contributors reject apocalyptic scenarios of media revolution, demonstrating instead that media transition is always a mix of tradition and innovation, an accretive process in which emerging and established systems interact, shift, and collude with one another.

This new and highly readable textbook by Richard M. Perloff introduces students to the complex world of contemporary news and its theoretical underpinnings, engaging with debates and ethical quandaries. The book takes readers on a concept-guided tour of the contours, continuities, and changing features of news. It covers a huge breadth of topics including: the classic theories of what news should do, its colorful history in America and popular myths of news, the overarching forces involved in contemporary news gathering, critical economic determinants of news and social system influences, and innovative trends in the future of journalism. Drawing on scholarship in the fields of journalism studies and sociology of news, Perloff offers readers a critical, in-depth exploration of news filled with relevant examples from newspapers, newscasts, and social media. Students of journalism, communication, sociology, politics, and related courses, as well as inquisitive scholars, will find this book’s intellectual focus enriching, the writing and examples engaging, and the thoroughness of its search of the contemporary media scene invigorating. Boxes summarizing theory and key concepts help students to deepen their understanding of both what news is now and its future.