News with a View

Modern mainstream journalism faces a very real disturbance of its foundational premise that credible news is gathered and articulated from an objective stance. This volume offers new examinations of how the traditional notion of objectivity is changing as professional journalists grapple with a rapidly evolving news terrain—one that has become increasingly crowded by those with no journalistic credentials. Examining historical antecedents, current dilemmas, international aspects, and theoretical considerations, contributors make the case that the journalist’s impulse to hold onto objectivity, and to ignore the increasing subjectivities to which citizens are attuned, actually contributes to the news media’s disconnect from today’s news consumer. Revealing how traditional journalism needs to incorporate “post-objective” stances, these essays stimulate further thought and conversation about news with a view in both theory and practice.

Burton St. John III, an associate professor of communication at Old Dominion University in Virginia, has authored and edited books on journalism, public relations, and propaganda. He has also published in the Journal of Communication Management, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Journalism Studies, Public Relations Review, and Journalism Practice.
Kirsten A. Johnson, an associate professor and chair of the department of communications at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, teaches broadcast news writing and television production. She has published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly and Learning, Media, and Technology.

Edited by Burton St. John III and Kirsten A. Johnson
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 274
Bibliographic Info: 4 illustrations, notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6589-7
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9111-7
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction: Challenges for Journalism in a Post-Objective Age      1
BURTON ST. JOHN III and KIRSTEN A. JOHNSON      1

Part I. Historical Perspectives      9
1. “Gagged, Mincing Neutrality”: Horace Greeley on Advocacy Journalism in the Early Years of the Penny Press
DAXTON R. “CHIP” STEWART      11
2. The Pride and Reward of Falisfication: Post-Objectivity as Post-Responsibility
AARON BARLOW      26
3. A New Model of Objectivity: Investigative Reporting in the Twentieth Century
GERRY LANOSGA      42

Part II. Contemporary Examinations      59
4. Conversational Journalism and Journalist-Audience Relations: New Rules, New Voices
DOREEN MARCHIONNI      61
5. The Sociality of News Sociology: Examining User Participation and News Selection Practices in Social Media News Sites
SHARON MERAZ      78
6. Why Contribute? Motivations and Role Conceptions among Citizen Journalists
DEBORAH S. CHUNG and SEUNGAHN NAH      97
7. Morality, the News Media, and the Public: An Examination of Comment Forums on U.S. Daily Newspaper Websites
SERENA CARPENTER and ROBIN BLOM      116

Part III. Global Considerations      133
8. Post-Objectivity and Regional Russian Journalism
WILSON LOWREY and ELINA ERZIKOVA      135
9. Journalism from the Perspective of “We”: How Group
Membership Shapes the Role of the Community Journalist
JOHN A. HATCHER      153
10. Engagement as an Emerging Norm in International News Agency Work
JOHN JIRIK      170

Part IV. Objectivity and Theory      187
11. Why Objectivity Is Impossible in Networked Journalism and What This Means for the Future of News
DAVID MICHAEL RYFE      189
12. Disrespecting the Doxa: The Daily Show Critique of CNN’s Struggle to Balance Detachment and Connectedness
BURTON ST. JOHN III      205
13. Gatekeeping in the Digital Age: A New Model for a Post-Objective World
KIRSTEN A. JOHNSON      222
14. Contemporary News Production and Consumption: Implications for Selective Exposure, Group Polarization, and Credibility
ETHAN HARTSELL, MIRIAM J. METZGER and ANDREW J. FLANAGIN      238

About the Contributors      259
Index      263

“Recommended”—Choice; “essays examine how the traditional idea of objectivity is changing in journalism as professional journalists deal with the changing news environment”—Reference & Research Book News.