ABSTRACT
A truly public journalism may help to rebuild trust between the public and the press, but if, as many journalists fear, public journalism becomes merely a marketing strategy, it will only deepen public cynicism. The other possible direction is for public journalism to become journalism with the public—that is, journalism that engages citizens as active partners in the newsmaking process and makes itself a tool that enhances citizens' abilities to work together to solve common problems or to achieve common goals. Public deliberation may be an important part of participatory democracy, but newspapers also serve democracy simply by making visible the culture and daily life of the community they serve. A public journalism that consists primarily of a conversation between journalists and experts and that relegates citizens to a secondary role is not likely to engage a disaffected populace.
