Is Journalism Dead?
Jeremy Iggers has launched his new weblog as part of the PJNet collective entitled:
Is Journalism Dead?
Notes on News, Democracy, and the Pictures Inside our Heads
Here is the beginning of his first post:
In recent years, many of the most eminent figures in American journalism… have spoken out, warning of dire consequences for American democracy unless current trends in journalism are reversed. These trends include the growing concentration of media ownership, the cutting of newsroom budgets and staff, declining coverage of the day-to-day conduct of government, declining foreign news coverage, increasing sensationalism and increasing coverage of celebrity and lifestyle stories at the expense of serious news….
My central argument is that, given present political and economic realities, those trends are not going to be reversed, and the impact of these trends is becoming evident in how our democracy functions. In effect, we are entering into the world that these prophets warned us about. Instead of issuing well-intentioned calls for journalism to reform itself, people who care about democratic values must find other ways to carry on the struggle, in a very different post-journalistic social and political landscape. MORE
Iggers writes for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Here are biographical notes posted at the University of Minnesota website:
Jeremy Iggers, Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota. He is an adjunct professor for the Department of American Studies and a staff writer with the Star Tribune covering restaurants and food. Iggers has written about ethics and public journalism, and has taught courses entitled Press Ethics and Responsibility, Ethical Inquiry, and Existentialism. He is a recipient of the 1997 Minnesota Book Award. MLS seminar: The News Media, The Crisis of Democracy, Is Journalism Dead? The Future of News.
