Online Journalism and Civic Cosmopolitanism: Professional vs. participatory ideals
Author
Summary, in English
Web-based civic participation in democracies, especially in the sprawling domain of alternative politics, continues to grow. In this paper I explore the intersection of two trajectories of such participation: one that takes the form of journalism (broadly understood) and the other that is transnational in character. Participatory journalism unavoidably evokes normative issues that professional journalism has always grappled with. Global activism, in turn, can be analytically framed by the theme of civic cosmopolitanism. My aim is to highlight and juxtapose these two sets of ideals, two normative frameworks for guiding practice in regard to journalism. In the first section I survey the Web environment from the standpoint of its enhanced capacity to enable citizens to engage with their societies and the world. Journalistic activity has become a part of this kind of online engagement, and thus normative issues about these practices quickly arise. In the second section, I sketch some of the relevant contours of cosmopolitanism, underscoring the normative themes that it raises. The final section comprises an interface with horizons of civic cosmopolitanism and those of a dilemma-ridden professional journalism; I try to pull the strands together by elucidating the implications that ensue.
Department/s
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Pages
156-171
Publication/Series
Journalism Studies
Volume
14
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Topic
- Media and Communications
Keywords
- civic cosmopolitanism
- democratic participation
- global activism
- online
- journalism
- participatory journalism
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1461-670X