Summary
Contents
Subject index
Traditional news values no longer hold: infotainment has the day. Journalism is in a terminal state of decline. Or so some contemporary commentators would argue. Although there has been a great diversity in format and ownership over time, Conboy demonstrates the surprising continuity of concerns in the history of journalism. Questions of political influence, the impact of advertising, the sensationalisation of news coverage, the 'dumbing down' of the press, the economic motives of newspaper owners - these are themes that emerge repeatedly over time and again today. In this book, Martin Conboy provides a history of the development of newspapers, periodicals and broadcast journalism which· enables readers to engage critically with contemporary issues within the news media· outlines the connections, as well as the distinctions, across historical periods · spans the introduction of printed news to the arrival of the 'new' news media· demonstrates how journalism has always been informed by a cultural practices broader and more dynamic than the simple provision of newsBy situating journalism in its historical context, this book enables students to more fully understand the wide range of practices which constitute contemporary journalism. As such it will be an essential text for students of journalism and the media.
Hacks or Heroes?
Introduction
The role of the journalist is a complex and sometimes contradictory one. This situation is becoming even more challenging in the contemporary world as journalism's tectonic plates shift to reveal a radically altered landscape. Yet the role of the journalist has never been straightforward, simply because it is too broad a range of activities and motivations to be encompassed by one word. Neither on the side of the angels of democratic engagement on behalf of the people, nor unequivocally in league with the devils of corporate finance in pursuit of the bottom line of profit, the journalist is constructed in history and in the present as scuttling somewhere between hack and hero.
It would appear that as more and more is ...
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