The Many Crises of Western Journalism: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Crises, Professional Crises, and Crises of Confidence
Forthcoming in Alexander, Jeffrey, Elizabeth Butler Breese and Maria Luengo (eds.) The Crisis of Journalism Reconsidered. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
33 Pages Posted: 2 May 2015
Date Written: 2014
Abstract
Journalism in the Western world is widely seen as being in crisis, though in reality the profession is faced with a variety of crises, and the precise nature of these crises differs in significant ways from country to country. This chapter presents a comparative analysis of how journalists, media executives, and media policymakers in six different Western democracies (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the US) interpret the state of professional journalism in their country in terms of three distinct and irreducibly different (real and potential) crises — first, an economic crisis concerning the very existence of professional journalism, second, a professional crisis concerning the definition of professional journalism, and, third, a crisis of confidence concerning the relations between journalists on the one hand and on the other hand citizens and people in positions of power.
Keywords: journalism, comparative research, internet, news media
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