Description
Book SynopsisMissing from the ongoing conversation about the titanic forces reshaping national journalism is the meaning of daily professional journalism in communities where the majority of Americans live. Edgar Simpson spent a year intimately engaged with all the news streams available in two Midwest countiesone where a daily newspaper had closed and one where a daily newspaper continues to operateto better understand and illuminate national news trends and translate them to specific communities. News, Public Affairs, and the Public Sphere in a Digital Nation: Rise of the Audience outlines the clear implications for representative democracy in the face of a daily professional journalism in retreat. If the U.S. system is to thrive, more resources at the community level must be marshaled to support journalism. Further, citizens will have to become increasingly sophisticated in understanding the type of content they are consuming and, more importantly, what information they are not consuming. This b
Trade ReviewSimpson’s case studies of Ohio counties are detailed, thorough, and rigorously analyzed. The author effectively catalogues what is happening locally in print, on television, and online, and seamlessly ties it into economic and cultural patterns affecting the nation and the industry as a whole. The result is a fresh and insightful window into the public sphere, at eye level, of a local media market. -- Joseph Hayden, University of Memphis
Edgar Simpson’s intriguing book explores how the changing nature of journalism affects real people and actual communities. Simpson uses his impressive research to help us understand how news is reported and consumed in our transformed media environment. News, Public Affairs, and the Public Sphere in a Digital Nation: Rise of the Audience is important reading for those who want to ensure that we live in a democracy with informed citizens. -- Jon Marshall, Northwestern University
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Rise of the Audience Chapter 2: The Shifting News Landscape Chapter 3: Pixels, Posts, and Producers Chapter 4: Building Their Own Narrative Chapter 5: The Mean Sphere and the Empty Sphere Chapter 6: #chardonshooting: The Inverted Sphere Chapter 7: Citizens and Journalism Chapter 8: Journalism
