ABSTRACT
The shoe fit. When the National Issues Convention arrived in Austin, Texas, in January of 1996, the public journalism faction of the news media stood ready with its glass slipper-waiting to show a doubting majority of journalists that a modern day fairy tale could come true. In the NIC, public journalism had found its perfect match: an informed, deliberating public and an active media with the agenda of helping to create and sustain that public. Together, they could raise the level of debate in this country and help revitalize the political process.
