About the Author

Jay Rosen is associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, New York University, and former director of the Kettering Foundation's Project on Public Life and the Press.

Reviews

"At last we have a full-scale, beautifully written account of the origin, growth, and meaning of 'public journalism' by the man who knows more about it than anyone else." Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death "In this book, which chronicles several battles over the future of the press, Jay Rosen shows why his ideas are sure to play an important part in the press's rediscovery of its role." James Fallows, author of Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy "Jay Rosen is the intellectual force behind the civic journalism movement, and this remarkable book is the best statement yet of civic journalism's philosophy, promise, and problems. A must read." Thomas E. Patterson, Harvard University "A valuable addition to a meager list of books that take journalism seriously." Tom Goldstein, New York Times Book Review "Providing us a refreshingly jargon-free manifesto of public journalism, [Rosen] proceeds in a spirit of fairness to record both the successes and the criticisms of its myriad detractors." Tracy Lee Simmons, Washington Post Book World"

"At last we have a full-scale, beautifully written account of the origin, growth, and meaning of 'public journalism' by the man who knows more about it than anyone else." Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death "In this book, which chronicles several battles over the future of the press, Jay Rosen shows why his ideas are sure to play an important part in the press's rediscovery of its role." James Fallows, author of Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy "Jay Rosen is the intellectual force behind the civic journalism movement, and this remarkable book is the best statement yet of civic journalism's philosophy, promise, and problems. A must read." Thomas E. Patterson, Harvard University "A valuable addition to a meager list of books that take journalism seriously." Tom Goldstein, New York Times Book Review "Providing us a refreshingly jargon-free manifesto of public journalism, [Rosen] proceeds in a spirit of fairness to record both the successes and the criticisms of its myriad detractors." Tracy Lee Simmons, Washington Post Book World"

Are journalists eyewitnesses who describe to a passive audience the actions of political insiders? Or are they catalysts to a public conversation and civic action? This debate is at the center of the development of "public journalism," a movement that Rosen, former director of the Kettering Foundation's Project on Public Life and the Press, helped found. This partisan but fair-minded history examines both theory and practice, as Rosen recounts the movement's intellectual roots, its adoption by some newspapers and reaction within the profession, including criticism from heavyweights like the New Yorker's David Remnick and the New York Times's Max Frankel. Some examples of public journalism are clearly salutary: a newspaper refuses to accept political candidates' framing of a campaign and instead queries the candidates on vital issues; another supplements local crime coverage with regular charts, so trends are not distorted by the sensationalist focus on particular crimes. But many journalists remain skeptical of a theory that may lead newspapers to start recommending civic solutions in their news pages. Rosen distinguishes between advocating projects (e.g., building a new stadium) and engaging citizens without recommending specific goals, offering responses to critics that are mostly thoughtful but don't resolve, for example, how public journalism ought to approach subjects readers should care about but don't, like foreign news. It's disappointing that Rosen does not muse on journalism as practiced by the European press, the American alternative press or even opinion magazines like the Nation or the New Republic. While none play the civic role of a dominating daily newspaper, they certainly resist framing issues according to newspaper conventions of objectivity. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.