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Week 14: What Now? What Next?

• Schudson, Ch. 5, "The Problem of News in Our Day: Recent Changes in Journalism," pp. 90-116.
• Bennett, Ch. 8, "All the News that Fits Democracy: Solutions for Citizens, Politicians, and Journalists," pp. 236-261.

How does Schudson suggest we approach trends towards cynicism and infotainment in news? What does Schudson mean by the tendency to report politics as a game rather than politics as policy? Has the trend towards entertainment in news been accelerating? Are these trends reflected worldwide? What factors came together to make possible "Monicagate"? What does Schudson mean by the trend of increasing "institutional news coherence"?

According to Bennett, what are the limits to private, for-profit news media? Why does Bennett favor more money for public broadcasting? Why does he say, "the cultural ideal of neutral or objective journalism may be the greatest limit on the communication of political ideas"? What is Bennett's "realistic picture of American political power," and how is it different from the ideal? Why does the "myth" of a free objective press persist? Who does it support most? What actions does Bennett propose for citizens, journalists, and government to improve the functioning of the news for democracy?