Journalism: New Challenges

"Digitally-savvy citizens intent on fashioning alternative forms of reporting are actively rewriting the rules of corporate journalism as together they cajole, provoke and inspire news organisations to fulfil their public service commitments."

With an eye toward identifying and critiquing a range of changes and challenges confronting journalism around the world today, this e-book is designed to engage journalists in "lively debate about the future of journalism". It includes an introduction written by the book's co-editors, followed by 29 chapters prepared by academics and journalists. Published with the support of the Centre for Journalism and Communication Research (CJCR) in the Media School at Bournemouth University, United Kingdom (UK), the book examines topics such as:

• the role of the journalist in a democratic society, including where questions of truth and free speech are concerned;
• changing priorities of newspaper, radio, television, magazine, photography, and online news organisations;
• political, economic, and technological pressures on news and editorial independence;
• the impact of digital convergence on the forms and practices of newsgathering and storytelling;
• the dynamics of professionalism, such as the negotiation of impartiality and objectivity in news reports;
• journalists' relationships with their sources;
• evolving genres of news reporting, such as war and peace journalism;
• journalism's influence on its audiences, such as the trauma of representing violence and tragedy;
• the globalisation of news, including the role of international news agencies;
• new approaches to investigative reporting in a digital era; and
• the rise of citizen journalism, live-blogging, and social media.

For example, in one chapter, Gavin Rees, the director of Dart Centre Europe, explores how recent insights into trauma science can improve the quality of journalism. Like other contributions to the book, Rees's chapter is designed to speak to both journalism students and media theory scholars. He points to a tendency to believe that admitting to being in difficulty due to having encountered trauma as part of their work could be "a sign of weakness that could harm...future careers", which he said has led some journalists to avoid dealing with the personal trauma impact they may experience, while also impacting the way they report on trauma survivors. He argues that there is little useful discussion around such practical issues as "what to do when an interviewee breaks down in the interview, how to listen non-judgmentally, how to fact-check without implying that one does not believe the interviewee?" The reluctance to discuss these issues head on, Rees writes, leaves practitioners to learn by "trial and error" and hinders media scholars from doing adequate descriptive justice to how journalists experience their work. In this context, he says, good trauma reporting requires "some specific knowledge, familiarity with certain interviewing techniques and a baseline ethical concern. But above all, it requires agility and precise attention to the specifics of each situation."

Like this one, each chapter ends with a set of "Challenging Questions", intended to help journalists as they develop their own perspective, as well as a list of "Recommended Reading" to "help push the conversation onwards".