April 02, 2012

New book examines objectivity in the modern age

News With a View
Several scholars familiar to COMJIG (and CCJIG) members are among authors in a new collection, News with a View: Essays on the Eclipse of Objectivity in Modern Journalism. They include John Hatcher, Deborah Chung, Seungahn Nah and Wilson Lowrey.

The book, edited by Burton St. John III of Old Dominion University and Kirsten A. Johnson of Elizabethtown College, is published by North Carolina-based McFarland. Johnson is head of CCJIG.

According to McFarland's blurb on the book:

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.


For more on News with a View, see www.mcfarlandpub.com.

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