ABSTRACT
Journalism today is a diverse package of offerings including print (newspapers and magazines), broadcast (radio and television) and, of course, the Internet. The face of news journalism is changing, literally every day. Probably the most important change instigated by the Internet is "citizen" or "participatory" journalism. This chapter looks at two large issues that inform the practice in the United States and, to a large extent, the Western world. These include the concept of objectivity, upon which the modern practice of journalism is grounded, and media bias, a topic directly related to objectivity and a cause for much concern among journalists, their audiences, and their critics. The practice of news journalism comes with its own set of ethical issues. Two additional areas, deception and privacy, are often cited as being troublesome for journalism. If the proponents of "new" journalism are right, it will be only through open and public participation and debate.
