Democracy & Republicanism, Journalism, Public Affairs & Policies

Journalism and Democracy

Name: Journalism and Democracy
Author: Brian McNair
ISBN: 9780415212809

by Brian McNair

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Overview

Journalism and Democracy explores and challenges the commonly held view that the "dumbing down" of the public sphere, the "tabloidization" of news, and the proliferation of "infotainment" and "spin" are adversely affecting the quality of political journalism and of democracy itself. Combining textual analysis and extensive in-depth interviews with political journalists, editors, presenters and documentary makers, Brian McNair offers a more optimistic evaluation of the contemporary public sphere. He argues that the quantity of political information in mass circulation has expanded hugely in the late twentieth century, and that it has become steadily more rigorous and effective in its criticism of elites, more accessible to the public, and more thorough in its coverage of the political process.

Synopsis

Argues that the media are not `dumbing down', but that the quantity of political information in mass circulation has expanded hugely, while different media have adapted to provide accessible and thorough coverage.