It is now well-established that the long-time economic model on which the news industry has relied is no longer sustainable. Facebook, Google, and declining levels of popular trust in the media have been major contributors to this situation. Simultaneously, the closure of local media outlets across the country has left many areas without access to regional news, compounded the distance between media and publics, and further eroded civic engagement. Despite the looming crisis in journalism, a research-practice gap plagues the news industry. This book argues that an underappreciated factor in the news crisis is a potentially symbiotic relationship between journalism studies and the industry that it researches. As this book contends, scholars must think about their work in a public context, and journalists, too, need to listen to media scholars and take the research that they do seriously. Including contributions from journalists and academics, Journalism Research That Matters offers journalists a guide on what they need to know and journalism scholars a call to action for what kind of research they can do to best help the news industry reckon with disruption. The book looks at new research developments surrounding audience behavior, social networks, and journalism business models; the challenges that scholars face in making their research available to the public and to journalists; the financial survival of quality news and information; and blind spots in the way that researchers and journalists do their work, especially around race, diversity, and inequality. A final section includes contributions from journalists about how researchers can better engage on the ground with newsrooms and media professionals.

It is now well-established that the long-time economic model on which the news industry has relied is no longer sustainable. Facebook, Google, and declining levels of popular trust in the media have been major contributors to this situation. Simultaneously, the closure of local media outlets across the country has left many areas without access to regional news, compounded the distance between media and publics, and further eroded civic engagement. Despite the looming crisis in journalism, a research-practice gap plagues the news industry. This book argues that an underappreciated factor in the news crisis is a potentially symbiotic relationship between journalism studies and the industry that it researches. As this book contends, scholars must think about their work in a public context, and journalists, too, need to listen to media scholars and take the research that they do seriously. Including contributions from journalists and academics, Journalism Research That Matters offers journalists a guide on what they need to know and journalism scholars a call to action for what kind of research they can do to best help the news industry reckon with disruption. The book looks at new research developments surrounding audience behavior, social networks, and journalism business models; the challenges that scholars face in making their research available to the public and to journalists; the financial survival of quality news and information; and blind spots in the way that researchers and journalists do their work, especially around race, diversity, and inequality. A final section includes contributions from journalists about how researchers can better engage on the ground with newsrooms and media professionals.

Despite the criticisms that have been leveled at news organizations in recent years and the many difficulties they face, journalism matters. It matters, argues Schudson, because it orients people daily in the complex and changing worlds in which they live. It matters because it offers a fact-centered, documented approach to pertinent public issues. It matters because it keeps watch on the powerful, especially those in government, and can press upon them unpleasant truths to which they must respond. Corruption is stemmed, unwise initiatives stopped, public danger averted because of what journalists do. This book challenges journalists to think hard about what they really do. It challenges skeptical news audiences to be mindful not only of media bias but also of their own biases and how these can distort their perception. And it holds out hope that journalism will be for years to come a path for ambitious, curious young people who love words or pictures or numbers and want to use them to improve the public conversation in familiar ways or in ways yet to be imagined.

This second edition of The Handbook of Journalism Studies explores the current state of research in journalism studies and sets an agenda for future development of the field in an international context. The volume is structured around theoretical and empirical approaches to journalism research and covers scholarship on news production; news content; journalism and society; journalism and culture; and journalism studies in a global context. As journalism studies has become richer and more diverse as a field of study, the second edition reflects both the growing diversity of the field, and the ways in which journalism itself has undergone rapid change in recent years. Emphasizing comparative and global perspectives, this new edition explores: Key elements, thinkers, and texts Historical context Current state of the field Methodological issues Merits and advantages of the approach/area of study Limitations and critical issues of the approach/area of study Directions for future research Offering broad international coverage from world-leading contributors, this volume is a comprehensive resource for theory and scholarship in journalism studies. As such, it is a must-have resource for scholars and graduate students working in journalism, media studies, and communication around the globe.

Journalism Research in Practice: Perspectives on Change, Challenges, and Solutions is a unique collection of research on journalism written for journalists and wider audiences. Based on scholarship previously published in Journalism Practice, Journalism Studies, and Digital Journalism, authors have updated and rewritten their works to make connections to contemporary issues. These 28 studies include perspectives on modern-day freelancing, digitization, and partisan influences on the press. They appear in four distinct sections: • Addressing Journalism in Times of Social Conflict • Advancements in New Media and Audience Participation • Challenges and Solutions in a Changing Profession • Possibilities for Journalism and Social Change This book is a collection by leading scholars from the field of Journalism Studies who have revisited their previous work with the intent of asking more questions about how journalism looks, works, and is preparing for the future. From coverage on Donald Trump and alt-right media to media trust, verification, and social media, this volume is relevant for practicing journalists today who are planning for tomorrow, students learning about the field and its debates, and scholars and educators looking for approachable texts about complex issues.

Can we talk about the news media without proclaiming journalism either our savior or the source of all evil? It is not easy to do so, but it gets easier if we put the problems and prospects of journalism in historical and comparative perspective, view them with a sociological knowledge of how newsmaking operates, and see them in a political context that examines how political institutions shape news as well as how news shapes political attitudes and institutions. Adopting this approach, Michael Schudson examines news and news institutions in relation to democratic theory and practice, in relation to the economic crisis that affects so many news organizations today and in relation to recent discussions of “fake news.” In contrast to those who suggest that journalism has had its day, Schudson argues that journalism has become more important than ever for liberal democracies as the keystone institution in a web of accountability for a governmental system that invites public attention, public monitoring and public participation. For the public to be swayed from positions people have already staked out, and for government officials to respond to charges that they have behaved corruptly or unconstitutionally or simply rashly and unwisely, the source of information has to come from organizations that hold themselves to the highest standards of verification, fact-checking, and independent and original research, and that is exactly what professional journalism aspires to do. This timely and important defense of journalism will be of great value to anyone concerned about the future of news and of democracy.

Almost twenty-five years ago, Shanto Iyengar and Donald R. Kinder first documented a series of sophisticated and innovative experiments that unobtrusively altered the order and emphasis of news stories in selected television broadcasts. Their resulting book News That Matters, now hailed as a classic by scholars of political science and public opinion alike, is here updated for the twenty-first century, with a new preface and epilogue by the authors. Backed by careful analysis of public opinion surveys, the authors show how, despite changing American politics, those issues that receive extended coverage in the national news become more important to viewers, while those that are ignored lose credibility. Moreover, those issues that are prominent in the news stream continue to loom more heavily as criteria for evaluating the president and for choosing between political candidates. “News That Matters does matter, because it demonstrates conclusively that television newscasts powerfully affect opinion. . . . All that follows, whether it supports, modifies, or challenges their conclusions, will have to begin here.”—The Public Interest