Overview

In this study, Ronald R. Rodgers examines several narratives involving religion’s historical influence on the news ethic of journalism: its decades-long opposition to the Sunday newspaper as a vehicle of modernity that challenged the tradition of the Sabbath; the parallel attempt to create an advertising-driven Christian daily newspaper; and the ways in which religion—especially the powerful Social Gospel movement—pressured the press to become a moral agent. The digital disruption of the news media today has provoked a similar search for a news ethic that reflects a new era—for instance, in the debate about jettisoning the substrate of contemporary mainstream journalism, objectivity. But, Rodgers argues, before we begin to transform journalism’s present news ethic, we need to understand its foundation and formation in the past.

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9780826221582

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Reviews

Ronald Rodgers brings a strong background to this book: more than twenty years as a newspaper reporter and editor, an intellectual curiosity about the past, and a proven track record as an astute historian. In studying journalism's mission and conduct over a ninety-year period in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, he closely examines criticism of how the press sustained itself and identified 'its role and responsibility.' Using both the regular press and the religious press, and focusing on the ethics of journalism, he argues convincingly that looking at the period under study can lead to a better understanding of journalism's role in society today. This approach breaks significant new ground in a highly interesting book. --Patrick S. Washburn, Professor Emeritus, Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Mainstream press and mainstream church: two institutions often seen as being past their prime, losing audiences, scrambling to stay solvent, and trying to remain relevant. Ronald R. Rodgers examines how these two opinion leaders tangled as America entered the era of mass consumption of goods and ideas, setting the stage for our information-rich but wisdom-poor society. Rodgers's book is aptly named. More than a century ago, the debates about the role and soul of the press focused on whether it should give what people need or what they want--a question fascinatingly addressed in miniature when the a clergyman took control of the Topeka Capital for one week in 1900. This bread-vs.-circuses debate animates the discussion about what seems to be our soul-less public life in the twenty-first century, making Rodgers's book a truly fascinating prologue to our present. --Michael Sweeney, author of The Military and the Press: An Uneasy Truce This may be a book about history, but its concerns are remarkably contemporary. Its central concern is the struggle for journalism that is both trustworthy and important, a concern that resonates with today's society that urgently needs credible news reporting but that distrusts media more than ever. It should become essential reading for those who want to understand media criticism in the United States. --John Ferre, University of Louisville; co-author of Good News: Social Ethics and the Press

This may be a book about history, but its concerns are remarkably contemporary. Its central concern is the struggle for journalism that is both trustworthy and important, a concern that resonates with today's society that urgently needs credible news reporting but that distrusts media more than ever. It should become essential reading for those who want to understand media criticism in the United States. - John Ferre, University of Louisville; co-author of Good News: Social Ethics and the Press Mainstream press and mainstream church: two institutions often seen as being past their prime, losing audiences, scrambling to stay solvent, and trying to remain relevant. Ronald R. Rodgers examines how these two opinion leaders tangled as America entered the era of mass consumption of goods and ideas, setting the stage for our information-rich but wisdom-poor society. Rodgers's book is aptly named. More than a century ago, the debates about the role and soul of the press focused on whether it should give what people need or what they want-a question fascinatingly addressed in miniature when the a clergyman took control of the Topeka Capital for one week in 1900. This bread-vs.-circuses debate animates the discussion about what seems to be our soul-less public life in the twenty-first century, making Rodgers's book a truly fascinating prologue to our present. - Michael Sweeney, author of The Military and the Press: An Uneasy Truce Ronald Rodgers brings a strong background to this book: more than twenty years as a newspaper reporter and editor, an intellectual curiosity about the past, and a proven track record as an astute historian. In studying journalism's mission and conduct over a ninety-year period in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, he closely examines criticism of how the press sustained itself and identified 'its role and responsibility.' Using both the regular press and the religious press, and focusing on the ethics of journalism, he argues convincingly that looking at the period under study can lead to a better understanding of journalism's role in society today. This approach breaks significant new ground in a highly interesting book. - Patrick S. Washburn, Professor Emeritus, Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism

Author Information

Ronald R. Rodgers is an Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Florida and lives in Gainesville, Florida.

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