Description
Book Synopsis“Fake news,” “alternative facts,” and daily attacks on the media from the Trump White House are redefining the media’s role for a new generation. Mainstream media has traditionally allowed journalists two roles. In order to remain ethical, they must either be neutral observers reporting the facts or signal that they are biased interpreters espousing a partisan agenda. In this provocative new work, leading global media ethicist Stephen Ward suggests that journalism needs to embrace a third path and begin practicing a new kind of journalism: democratically engaged journalism. It is only by breaking free of dualistic ethical practices that the world’s media will be able to address ‘Trumpism’—a heady mix of populism, authoritarian leadership, narrow patriotism, and moral tribalism (Us versus Them). Weaving in rich examples from daily journalism, this timely book will address practical questions such as how to cover a constant torrent of presidential “tweets,” how fact-checking plays a part in democratically engaged media, and how journalists should respond to the pressure to be patriotic in their coverage of global issues such as immigration and the impact of Trump’s “America First” foreign policy. At issue is the need to construct a new journalism ethics for today’s social context. We need a new approach to journalism ethics not only to report on the Trump presidency but also for reporting in a digital, global world.
Trade ReviewStephen Ward is a public intellectual of the first order, challenging us to global citizenship in these dangerous times of net-powered extremism and authoritarian politics. This book is profoundly informed across history and geography, and philosophically astute on the morality of human flourishing. With its literary precision and theoretical elegance, Ethical Journalism in a Populist Age will become a classic equal to Lippmann’s Public Opinion, Scanlon’s What We Owe Each Other, and Dworkin’s Sovereign Virtue. -- Clifford G. Christians, University of Illinois
After decades of working in the trenches of real journalism and ethics theory, Stephen Ward offers a refined framework for how journalists should confront our globalized media world. In this book, he offers a valuable and highly relevant exploration of populism in world politics. This sets the stage for his provocative call to arms for 'democratically engaged journalism' to address the constant threat of demagogy. Meeting this call requires journalists to move beyond tired notions of western objectivity. Ward has made a valuable contribution to journalism ethics theorizing. -- Patrick Lee Plaisance, Don W. Davis Professor in Ethics, Pennsylvania State University
At a time when democracy around the world seems threatened by raging populism, callous disregard for the truth, and persistent social and economic inequality, Ward’s book reminds us of the crucial importance of ethically committed journalism. It sounds a warning that should resonate widely. -- Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Cape Town
Table of ContentsSection 1: Problem of Journalism in a Time of Trump Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Why Radical Ethics? Section 2: The Democratically Engaged Model Chapter 3: The Idea of Democratically Engaged Journalists Chapter 4: Pragmatic Objectivity: Objectivity within Engagement Chapter 5: Serving the Republic—Problem of Patriotism
