Rethinking Journalism: Trust and Participation in a Transformed News Landscape

By: Chris Peters and Marcel Broersma

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Synopsis: There is no doubt, journalism faces challenging times. Since the turn of the millennium, the financial health of the news industry is failing, mainstream audiences are on the decline, and professional authority, credibility and autonomy are eroding. The outlook is bleak and it’s understandable that many are pessimistic. But this book argues that we have to rethink journalism fundamentally. Rather than just focus on the symptoms of the ‘crisis of journalism’, this collection tries to understand the structural transformation journalism is undergoing. It explores how the news media attempts to combat decreasing levels of trust, how emerging forms of news affect the established journalistic field, and how participatory culture creates new dialogues between journalists and audiences. Crucially, it does not treat these developments as distinct transformations. Instead, it considers how their interrelation accounts for both the tribulations of the news media and the need for contemporary journalism to redefine itself.