Journalism majors:
This was passed along from Kendrea Justice. Thought it had some interesting
points.
Linda Crider


Some good thoughts from the closing paragraphs of Jay Rosen's new book on
public journalism, "What Are Journalists For?"

"Journalists make it their business to be knowledgeable and alert.  They
come to work ready to play a part in a public drama, even as they fill a job
in a private business.  Through this steady work they stand for something:
the argument that democracy and civic life are an everyday affair and
everyone's business.  That's why the dwindling audience for serious news is
a civic ordeal, and not just a marketplace verdict.

If 'public affairs are for everyone' is one thing the press can uphold,
there are others:  Politics as public property, not the province of a
knowledgeable class.  Public discussion as a prelude to public decisions,
which remain incomplete without it. Deliberation as an art within reach of
average citizens, who have something to say if they are heard with patience
and imagination.  Democracy as a learning experience for everyone involved.
When journalists stand for these values they uphold democracy seen a certain
way: as something we do, rather than what is done to us by the system and
its hired hands."

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