Overview

This collection of original essays brings a dramatically different perspective to bear on the contemporary 'crisis of journalism'. Rather than seeing technological and economic change as the primary causes of current anxieties, The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered draws attention to the role played by the cultural commitments of journalism itself. Linking these professional ethics to the democratic aspirations of the broader societies in which journalists ply their craft, it examines how the new technologies are being shaped to sustain value commitments rather than undermining them. Recent technological change and the economic upheaval it has produced are coded by social meanings. It is this cultural framework that actually transforms these 'objective' changes into a crisis. The book argues that cultural codes not only trigger sharp anxiety about technological and economic changes, but provide pathways to control them, so that the democratic practices of independent journalism can be sustained in new forms.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jeffrey C. Alexander (Yale University, Connecticut) ,  Elizabeth Butler Breese ,  Maria Luengo (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press (Virtual Publishing)
ISBN:  

9781316589991

ISBN 10:   1316589994
Publication Date:   08 June 2016
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Electronic book text
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Part I. Introduction: 1. Journalism, democratic culture, and creative reconstruction Jeffrey C. Alexander; Part II. The Crisis Narrative: 2. The perpetual crisis of journalism: cable and digital revolutions Elizabeth Butler Breese; 3. The crisis of public service broadcasting reconsidered: privatization and digitalization in Scandinavia Hakon Larsen; 4. Beyond administrative journalism: civic skepticism and the crisis in journalism Daniel Kreiss; 5. The many crises of Western journalism: a comparative analysis of economic crises, professional crises, and crises of confidence Rasmus Kleis Nielsen; 6. The crisis in news: can you whistle a happy tune? Michael Schudson; Part III. Fears of Digital News Media: The Symbolic Struggle: 7. When codes collide: journalists push back against digital desecration Maria Luengo; 8. Telling the crisis story of journalism: narratives of normative reassurance in Page One Matt Carlson; 9. Assembling publics, assembling routines, assembling values: journalistic self-conception and the crisis in journalism C. W. Anderson; 10. The constancy of immediacy: from printing press to digital age Nikki Usher; 11. News on new platforms: Norwegian journalists and entrepreneurs face the digital age Kari Steen-Johnsen, Karoline Andreas Ihlebaek and Bernard Enjolras; Part IV. Professional Journalism, Civil Codes, and Digital Culture: 12. Journalism in American regional online news systems David Ryfe; 13. Digital media and the diversification of professionalism: a US-German comparison of journalism cultures Matthias Revers; 14. Professional and citizen journalism: tensions and complements Peter Dahlgren; 15. Expressions of right and wrong: the emergence of a cultural structure of journalism Stephen F. Ostertag; Part V. Conclusion: 16. News innovations and enduring commitments Elizabeth Butler Breese and Mara Luengo.

Reviews

'This book offers an extraordinarily useful and significant contribution to scholarly debate about the future of journalism by reflecting on the too often missed cultural component in explanations of the current crisis facing news, democracy and journalism in an age of digital media. Reflective and enviably well written, it is essential reading for everyone interested in the ways in which the digital future is unravelling.' Bob Franklin, University of Cardiff 'The never-ending technological and economic journalism crises are addressed in this edited book in a profound, multidimensional and critical manner. It is a fundamental piece to comprehend present-day social and cultural deadlocks and to shed light on the imaginable futures of democratic practices.' Helena Sousa, University of Minho 'Consistently provocative and original, The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered is a must-read for anyone interested in media and democracy.' Ronald Jacobs, State University of New York, Albany, and author of The Space of Opinion: Media Intellectuals and the Public Sphere 'This collection proves that a discussion about journalism's democratic function and performance is not something that should be left merely to practitioners, technology experts or academic mini-publics. Its advantage is that it opens a new space for discussion, and it is a new start that allows for a change of perspective.' Andreas Hess, The Irish Times 'The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered is a thoughtful volume arriving at an opportune time to address important developments in journalism studies and in its object of concern ... It is exceedingly well-written and organized. Its theoretical richness and distinctive take on the landscapes of both journalism and journalism studies position it as a novel contribution that will fuel much reflection on the issues it raises. It reminds us, ultimately, that journalism is anchored by its normativity. In an age when hope for journalism seems to be in short supply, this book comes at the right time.' Ryan J. Thomas, Journalism

Author Information

Jeffrey Alexander is a leading social theorist who helped create the contemporary field of cultural sociology. He has written and edited dozens of books, among them The Meanings of Social Life, Trauma: A Social Theory, Performance and Power, The Civil Sphere, The Dark Side of Modernity, and Obama Power (with Bernadette Jaworsky). His books and articles have won various national and international awards. Elizabeth Butler Breese is a sociologist who works with high-growth technology and education companies. She has published media, public sphere, and celebrity research in several sociology and communications journals and has been called on to comment on social media trends in The New York Times, Wired, and AdAge. She is currently Marketing Director at Panorama Education. Maria Luengo is a journalist and a lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Communication at Carlos III University, Madrid. She researches and writes about journalism, culture, and civil sphere. Her latest book, Periodismo social (Social Journalism), coauthored with Juana Gallego (2014), interprets developments at the nexus of social trends and movements, gender and migration, and journalistic culture and practice over the last two decades in Spain. She has published widely in the field of journalism studies, journalism ethics, media, and cultural studies.

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