ABSTRACT
The original impetus for civic journalism was a desire by some journalists and academics to address what they saw as the inability of mainstream journalism to help the public come to common judgment concerning many political issues, a situation that still persists. Despite unprecedented access to information from newspapers and magazines – along with broadcast, cable, satellite television and the Internet – the general public has, in the view of many observers, become disempowered and unable to affect the decisions and operations of government (Gans, 2003). Critics point out that news operations too often are either passive transmitters of political “spin” or arrogant know-it-alls, making them part of the problem rather than part of the solution (Fallows, 1996). The goal of this chapter is to outline a set of normative “best practices” for online news coverage. Specifically, this examination explores how traditional news organizations can more effectively perform their Fourth Estate role of assisting in the formation of public opinion so that citizens can have a greater impact on public policy. These normative suggestions are grounded in theory, but at the same time have pragmatic applicability. The premise is that if more media organizations used these tools, or something like them, to improve citizen engagement, then the political communication system that underlies our self-governing society could begin to function more effectively in small but significant ways. The online coverage framework described here provides an opportunity to rejuvenate public affairs coverage by traditional media in ways that emulate the public journalism ideal of creating a civic commons. This study explores how news organizations can use interactive tools as a different means to achieve that end. Public journalism was always about more than purely information delivery, and so is online news. The interactivity that distinguishes the Internet from other mass media can be used to facilitate shared constructions of meaning that are crucial to public deliberation. Traditional mass media approaches such as
print or broadcast news reports are good at creating awareness (agenda setting) but not so good at helping to create public judgment (Yankelovich, 1991). This distinction creates room for novel approaches. As Singer (2003) succinctly put it, “The Web offers both citizens and journalists new options related to information, discourse and decision-making. . . . Journalists who see their role as crucial to democracy have an opportunity to expand that role in a meaningful way” (p. 52).
