The Changing Faces of Journalism: Tabloidization, Technology and Truthiness. Zelizer, Barbie (ed.) (2009). New York: Routledge. pp. 174.

New New Media. Levinson, Paul (2009). Boston: Allyn & Bacon Penguin Academics. pp. 226.

Arguing for a General Framework for Mass Media Scholarship. Potter, W. James (2009). Los Angeles: SAGE. pp. 394.

An impressive group of scholars weighs in on changing journalistic norms, and Barbie Zelizer does so understanding the challenge: “The very presence of change in academic inquiry has long been seen as a necessary but often risky aspect of the landscape of knowledge acquisition” (p. 1). Drawing upon sociology of knowledge, Zelizer sees “slow and gradual incorporation of change into academic thought” (p. 2). To the extent that we are in the business of creating new knowledge, change threatens to undo our treasured life’s work. Thus, Zelizer sees that “degrees of dissonance exist because journalism scholars have not sufficiently navigated pathways between journalism we imagine and journalism we have” (p. 3). The reminder is that journalistic realities may be diverse, even if we have greater consensus on ideals. The organizational structure of The Changing Faces of Journalism: Tabloidization, Technology and Truthiness divides essays along the three dimensions of tabloidization, technology, and truthiness—all popular concepts with limited theoretical development. [Read more...]