The Sociology of Journalism

What are the social consequences of journalistic activity for individuals, groups and institutions? What role does journalism play in liberal democratic societies? How have changes in technology and the advent of rolling news programmes affected contemporary journalistic practice? And what are their relationships with their institutions, the owners who control those institutions and the politicians who seek to regulate them? This book aims to offer an authoritative and thought-provoking insight into contemporary journalism and its role in today's society. The author points out that journalism courses rarely ask their students to consider the conditions for journalism's existence, where it comes from, what it is for, and how it works. This text asks those questions and suggests ways in which they might be answered.