In the face of such challenges, this new volume in the World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development series offers a critical analysis of new trends in media freedom, pluralism, independence and the safety of journalists.

In Good News, Bad News , Jeremy Iggers argues that journalism's institutionalized conversation about ethics largely evades the most important issues regarding the public interest and the civic responsibilities of the press. Changes in the ownership and organization of the news media make these issues especially timely; although journalism's ethics rest on the idea of journalism as a profession, the rise of market-driven journalism has undermined journalists' professional status. Ultimately, argues Iggers, journalism is impossible without a public that cares about the common life. Written in an accessible style, Good News, Bad News is important reading for journalists, communication scholars, and students. }Public dissatisfaction with the news media frequently gives rise to calls for journalists to live up to the ethical standards of their profession. But what if the fault lies in part with the standards themselves?Jeremy Iggers argues that journalisms institutionalized conversation about ethics largely evades the most important issues regarding the public interest and the civic responsibilities of the press. Changes in the ownership and organization of the news media make these issues especially timely; although journalisms ethics rest on the idea of journalism as a profession, the rise of market-driven journalism has undermined journalists professional status.Ultimately, argues Iggers, journalism is impossible without a public that cares about the common life. A more meaningful approach to journalism ethics must begin with a consideration of the role of the news media in a democratic society and proceed to look for practical ways in which journalism can contribute to the vitality of public life.Written in an accessible style, Good News, Bad News is important reading for journalists, communication scholars, and students. }

The media are in crisis. Confronted by growing competition and sagging advertising revenue, news operations in print, on radio and TV, and even online are struggling to reinvent themselves. Many have gone under. For too many others, the answer has been to lay off reporters, join conglomerates, and lean more heavily on generic content. The result: in a world awash with information, news organizations provide citizens with less and less in-depth reporting and a narrowing range of viewpoints. If democracy requires an informed citizenry, this trend spells trouble. Julia Cagé explains the economics and history of the media crisis in Europe and America, and she presents a bold solution. The answer, she says, is a new business model: a nonprofit media organization, midway between a foundation and a joint stock company. Cagé shows how this model would enable the media to operate independent of outside shareholders, advertisers, and government, relying instead on readers, employees, and innovative methods of financing, including crowdfunding. Cagé’s prototype is designed to offer new ways to share and transmit power. It meets the challenges of the digital revolution and the realities of the twenty-first century, inspired by a central idea: that news, like education, is a public good. Saving the Media will be a key document in a debate whose stakes are nothing less crucial than the vitality of democracy.

Insights into modern American politics and society from two of Florida’s most influential public figures Writing for the Public Good presents a selection of over 100 important opinion pieces from David R. Colburn (1942‒2019) and Senator Bob Graham, two of the most influential public figures in contemporary Florida. Spanning 30 years and addressing a wide variety of topics that continue to be relevant today, these essays show the key role of Florida in modern American life and politics and illustrate the power of civic engagement in tackling issues facing the nation. Exemplifying public writing that connects with and informs readers everywhere, these pieces appeared as op-eds in outlets including the Miami Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, the Tampa Tribune, the Orlando Sentinel, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, and Time. With style, intelligence, and thoughtfulness, Colburn and Graham examine subjects including the economy, race relations, public education, the environment, national intelligence, and international affairs. They look to history to give context to the social problems of today, and they point forward to constructive solutions that center on the role of citizen activism. Together, these essays chart the history of modern Florida, reflecting the state’s rise to a Sunbelt powerhouse that is often at the center of national conversations. Colburn and Graham challenge readers to consider and discuss different perspectives on current issues and, above all, to respond. Readers will come away with renewed hope that their actions can make a difference to improve society and will be inspired to work for a better tomorrow. A volume in the series Government and Politics in the South, edited by Sharon D. Wright Austin and Angela K. Lewis-Maddox

That market forces drive the news is not news. Whether a story appears in print, on television, or on the Internet depends on who is interested, its value to advertisers, the costs of assembling the details, and competitors' products. But in All the News That's Fit to Sell, economist James Hamilton shows just how this happens. Furthermore, many complaints about journalism--media bias, soft news, and pundits as celebrities--arise from the impact of this economic logic on news judgments. This is the first book to develop an economic theory of news, analyze evidence across a wide range of media markets on how incentives affect news content, and offer policy conclusions. Media bias, for instance, was long a staple of the news. Hamilton's analysis of newspapers from 1870 to 1900 reveals how nonpartisan reporting became the norm. A hundred years later, some partisan elements reemerged as, for example, evening news broadcasts tried to retain young female viewers with stories aimed at their (Democratic) political interests. Examination of story selection on the network evening news programs from 1969 to 1998 shows how cable competition, deregulation, and ownership changes encouraged a shift from hard news about politics toward more soft news about entertainers. Hamilton concludes by calling for lower costs of access to government information, a greater role for nonprofits in funding journalism, the development of norms that stress hard news reporting, and the defining of digital and Internet property rights to encourage the flow of news. Ultimately, this book shows that by more fully understanding the economics behind the news, we will be better positioned to ensure that the news serves the public good.