Dear colleagues,
A new book out that might interest some of you:
Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2007). Journalists and the public: Newsroom culture, letters to the editor, and
democracy. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Citizen participation in politics is central to successful democracies. Yet there is increasing
concern about the lack of opportunities for and interest in political participation. This book
raises questions about the relationship between citizenship, journalism, and democracy by looking at
how journalists deal with letters to the editor--an enduring forum for public debate. Based on
ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with journalists who work with letters, the book
examines how these journalists understand the public, and how they view of newspaper's role in
democracy. It looks at how these "gatekeepers" select letters, privileging some voices while
silencing others. Journalists want to serve the public and facilitate debate. However, while they
love the idea of the public, the constraints and time pressures that shape their work conspire to
create a culture that has little time for those members of the public who actually bother to
participate.
Available here:
<http://www.hamptonpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=1-57273-737-0&Category_Code=Q207>
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/Journalists-Public-Newsroom-Culture-Democracy/dp/1572737379/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196015995&sr=8-1>
Dr. Tammy Boyce
Research Fellow in Risk, Health and Science Communication
Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies
Bute Building
King Edward VII Ave
Cardiff
CF10 3NB
Tel: 029 20874633
Fax: 029 20238832
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