ABSTRACT

This book advances a journalistic theory of empathy, challenging long-held notions about how best to do journalism. Because the institution of journalism has typically equated empathy and compassion with bias, it has been slow to give the intelligence of the emotions a legitimate place in the reporting and writing process. Blank-Libra’s work locates the point at which the vast, multidisciplinary research on empathy intersects with the work of the journalist, revealing a reality that has always been so: journalists practice empathy as a way to connect but also as a form of inquiry, as sincere and legitimate in its goals and aspirations as is objectivity.

chapter |18 pages

Introduction

Toward an Integrated Practice

chapter |12 pages

An Expanding Philosophy

chapter |10 pages

Objectivity

A Timeworn Antipathy to Empathy

chapter |26 pages

Against Compassion

A Quagmire for Journalists

chapter |26 pages

Historically Intertwined

The Narrative and Empathy

chapter |15 pages

Research and Reflection

Fueling Empathy

chapter |9 pages

The Moral Imagination

Reclaiming the Call

chapter |10 pages

For the Good of the Soul