The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered: Democratic Culture, Professional Codes, Digital Future

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.

Author: Jeffrey C. Alexander
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06/13/2016
Pages: 328
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 9.11h x 6.04w x 0.72d
ISBN: 9781107448513

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2017

About the Author
Alexander, Jeffrey C.: - 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.Breese, Elizabeth Butler: - 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.Luengo, Marîa: - María 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.