What's "Public" About Public Journalism? Public Journalism and the Lack of a Coherent Public Philosophy

Haas, Tanni

doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.1999.tb00174.x

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One consequence of this approach is confusion about what constitutes deliberation, as opposed to what sparks or emanates from it. As Haas (1999) explains, "In many instances the boundaries between the process and outcome of public deliberation have been blurred rather than distinct" (p. 355). Without a clear definition and set of theoretical claims, deliberation has limited value as a subject of sustained empirical investigation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Definition and Theoretical Model of Public Deliberation in Small Face-to-Face Groups

Burkhalter

Gastil

Kelshaw

2002

Communication Theory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although scholars have begun to study face-to-face deliberation on public issues, "deliberation" has no clear conceptual definition and only weak moorings in larger theories. To address these problems, this essay integrates diverse philosophical and empirical works to define deliberation and place it in a broader theoretical context. Public deliberation is a combination of careful problem analysis and an egalitarian process in which participants have adequate speaking opportunities and engage in attentive listening or dialogue that bridges divergent ways of speaking and knowing. Placed in the meta-theoretical framework of structuration theory (Giddens, 1984), deliberation is theorized to exist at the center of a homeostatic loop, in which deliberative practice reinforces itself. A review of theory and research on the causes and effects of deliberation leads us to develop this structurational conceptualization into the self-reinforcing model of deliberation. This model posits that public deliberation is more likely to occur when discussion participants perceive potential common ground, believe deliberation is an appropriate mode of talk, possess requisite analytic and communication skills, and have sufficient motivation. Deliberation directly reinforces participants' deliberative habits and skills, and it indirectly promotes common ground and motivation by broadening participants' public identities and heightening their sense of political efficacy.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Definition and Theoretical Model of Public Deliberation in Small Face-to-Face Groups

Burkhalter

Gastil

Kelshaw

2002

Communication Theory

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This suggests that the Internet can expand the public sphere, based on the promotion of 'rational-critical' discourse (Habermas, 1997: 106). The discussion of the public sphere in light of the theory of deliberative democracy has featured elsewhere (Dahlgren, 2009;Haas, 1999;Habermas, 2009). However, realisations of deliberative democracy online remain limited, a situation that could be improved by giving public service broadcasters an expanded role in providing solutions.…”

Section: Internet Based Democracymentioning

confidence: 99%

The search for a civic commons online: an assessment of existing BBC Online policy

Ramsey

2013

Media, Culture & Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Debates surrounding democracy and the Internet are of central importance to the future of public service broadcasting. Some of these debates have led a group of scholars to argue for the establishment of a civic commons online, in response to the commercial nature of the Internet and its limited support of deliberative democracy. General features of a civic commons online include the formation of a deliberative space free from corporate and state influence, yet that receives some form of public funding. Given their long and relatively successful history, some scholars have argued that existing public service broadcasters might provide the best chance for the establishment of such a commons. This article evaluates existing BBC Online policy in the UK in light of these arguments, and assesses the extent to which existing policy might allow space for the establishment of such a civic commons. The article concludes by arguing that while existing BBC Online policy would allow the basic grounds for the establishment of a civic commons online, there are significant obstacles to its full realisation.

show abstract

“…Using the Habermasian theory of the public sphere to contextualise this article has a certain strong rationale to it, given Habermas's later explicit focus on the role of deliberative democracy in the public sphere. Haas (1999) states that whilst Habermas is seen as one of the key proponents of deliberative democracy, he is accepted into this role somewhat uncritically; for example, in the case of Lambeth calling Habermas the "patron saint" of public journalism. Nevertheless, Habermas significantly informs the genre (Haas 1999, 346-347).…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinnings: the Public Spherementioning

confidence: 99%

Journalism, Deliberative Democracy and Government Communication

Ramsey

2010

Javnost - The Public

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article will address theories of deliberative democracy, the public sphere and government communication, and will investigate the ways in which government communication might be carried out to strengthen and improve deliberative democracy, within the wider context of journalism. Specifically, this article will begin by undertaking an extended survey of the normative model of the public sphere, as outlined by Jürgen Habermas, and will take account of his later work on the centrality of the deliberative process to the public sphere. In the second half, this article will apply Held's conceptions to the role of government communication in the strengthening of deliberative democracy, and will attempt to make normative arguments about certain forms of government communication. In doing so, it will address three areas: the problems with the standing "lobby" system of briefing journalists in the UK; ways in which government communication might be held to greater account in the public sphere; ways in which the improved communication of Parliament might impact upon deliberative democracy. Journalism, Deliberative Democracy and Government Communication: normative arguments from public sphere theory This article will address theories of deliberative democracy, the public sphere and government communication, and will investigate the ways in which government communication might be carried out to strengthen and improve deliberative democracy, within the wider context of journalism. Specifically, this article will begin by undertaking an extended survey of the normative model of the public sphere, as outlined by Jürgen Habermas, and will take account of his later work on the centrality of the deliberative process to the public sphere. In the second half, this article will apply Held's conceptions to the role of government communication in the strengthening of deliberative democracy, and will attempt to make normative arguments about certain forms of government communication. In doing so, it will address three areas: the problems with the standing "lobby" system of briefing journalists in the UK; ways in which government communication might be held to greater account in the public sphere; ways in which the improved communication of Parliament might impact upon deliberative democracy. This article will argue that the configuration between journalism, government communication and deliberative democracy is crucial in the type of public sphere that results, and that accordingly normative arguments ought to be forwarded on how this configuration functions.

show abstract

What's "Public" About Public Journalism? Public Journalism and the Lack of a Coherent Public Philosophy

Cited by 10 publications

References 26 publications

A Conceptual Definition and Theoretical Model of Public Deliberation in Small Face-to-Face Groups

A Conceptual Definition and Theoretical Model of Public Deliberation in Small Face-to-Face Groups

The search for a civic commons online: an assessment of existing BBC Online policy

Journalism, Deliberative Democracy and Government Communication

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About