American Carnival: Journalism under Siege in an Age of New Media (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: professional journalism, health journalist, real journalism, World of Illusions, Defending the News, Freak Show (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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With the backward view of a long career as a correspondent with the Washington Post and the forward view of a journalism professor, Henry offers a compelling look at troubling trends in American journalism. He juxtaposes the promise of advancements in the technical capabilities of news gatherers against the continued struggle with issues of truth, fairness, and ethics necessary to continue journalism's supportive role in democracy and public service. Henry scrutinizes the professional lapses of modern journalism--the intentional frauds and corruptions that have seen front-page publicity, as well as the horror stories told by former students. Henry explores the corporate pressures that have led to cuts in staff, and the technological and cultural changes that have led to advertorials that confuse the public and fill pages and airtime. He also examines the effect of the Internet and the profusion of citizen journalists who, along with government officials pretending to be journalists, add to the public's confusion and low regard for news gatherers. This is a personal, frontline account of worrisome changes in the profession. Vanessa Bush
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Product Description

In this vividly written, compelling narrative, award-winning journalist Neil Henry confronts the crisis facing professional journalism in this era of rapid technological transformation. American Carnival combines elements of memoir with extensive media research to explore critical contemporary issues ranging from reporting on the Iraq War, to American race relations, to the exploitation of the image of journalism by advertisers and politicians. Drawing on significant currents in U.S. media and social history, Henry argues that, given the amount of fraud in many institutions in American life today, the decline of journalistic professionalism sparked by the economic challenge of New Media poses especially serious implications for democracy. As increasingly alarming stories surface about unethical practices, American Carnival makes a stirring case for journalism as a calling that is vital to a free society, a profession that is more necessary than ever in a digital age marked by startling assaults on the cultural primacy of truth.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520243420
• ISBN-13: 978-0520243422
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #594,720 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)