Recommended readings for The Battle for the Media

The rise of ‘citizen journalism’ - from bloggers to phone snappers

Bobbie Johnson and Michael Fitzpatrick report on the Herald Tribune using Korean 'citizen journalists' to boost their coverage of Asia: Korean website's 40,000 citizen journalists get shot at byline in Herald Tribune Guardian 31 May 2006
'To restore the credibility we thought we protected but in fact lost when we insisted that we could and should be objective' Jeff Jarvis urges all journalists and editors to add the personal touch by blogging: Talking BackGuardian 05 April 2006
Stephen Brook reports on Reuters' plans to use far more user-generated content when reporting major news stories: 'Reuters to evolve with citizen journalists' Guardian 04 May 2004

Further readings:

Gillian D. M. Ursell's report investigates 'the thesis that, in western liberal societies, news values, news agenda and standards of journalism have deteriorated significantly over recent decades.' Dumbing Down or Shaping Up? Journalism 2001 (pdf)

Does the media dumb down complex ideas in the arts, science and politics?

What a good editor understands, argues K C Cole, is that science is difficult. To dismiss a piece because he/she doesn't understand it, or because its conclusions are inconclusive indicates an ignorance of science: Weird Science: Why editors must dare to be dumb Columbia Journalism Review 2006
In his review of a collection of essays on PR and journalism Andrew Haydon asks 'does PR compromise or enhance the public's undertanding of the world': Where the Truth Lies: Trust and Morality in Journalism and PR' Culture Wars 17 August 2006
Addressing himself to the issue of falling journalistic standards, be it ignoring the demands of complex issues or simply failing to comprehend simple ones, John Lloyd feels a culture change in British journalism is long overdue: From the Daily Star to the BBC - we must all change Guardian 10 January 2005 (login required)

Further readings:
Steven Barnett examines the concept of tabloidisation: Dumbing Down or Reaching Out: Is it Tabloidisation wot done it? Political Quarterly 1998 (subscription required)

Is TV good for children?

Owen Gibson reports on Ofcom's plans to cut by half the amount of food and drink advertising seen by children in the UK: Watchdog puts ban on celebrities advertising junk food to under-10sGuardian 29 March 2006
Brian Young is not convinced that there is a simple causal relation between advertising and children's eating habits: Does advertising to children make them fat? A sceptical gaze at irreconcilable differences University of Exeter 20 February 2004