Journalism and civic engagement

Walter Lippmann and John Dewey grapple with democratic values

“What Are Journalists For?”

• Jay Rosen describes the debate between Lippmann and Dewey in his 1999 book

“What Are Journalists For?”

• Jay Rosen describes the debate between Lippmann and Dewey in his 1999 book

• Today Rosen would probably ask “What Is Journalism For?”

“What Are Journalists For?”

• Jay Rosen describes the debate between Lippmann and Dewey in his 1999 book

• Today Rosen would probably ask “What Is Journalism For?”

Walter Lippmann

• Disillusioned by propaganda to build support for World War I

Walter Lippmann

• Disillusioned by propaganda to build support for World War I

• A founder of The New Republic

Walter Lippmann

• Disillusioned by propaganda to build support for World War I

• A founder of The New Republic

• Came to believe that the public should havea limited role in democracy

“Public Opinion” (1922)

• Most people are busy, ill-informed and ill-suited for self-government

“Public Opinion” (1922)

• Most people are busy, ill-informed and ill-suited for self-government

• “Manufacturing consent”

“Public Opinion” (1922)

• Most people are busy, ill-informed and ill-suited for self-government

• “Manufacturing consent”

• Lippmann put his faith in experts — a stance that later changed

John Dewey

• Philosopher, psychologist and education reformer

John Dewey

• Philosopher, psychologist and education reformer

• Maintained a strong belief in democracy

John Dewey

• Philosopher, psychologist and education reformer

• Maintained a strong belief in democracy

• A fellow contributor to The New Republic, he wrote a book-length response to Lippmann

“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)

• Democracy is less a system of government than a society organized around certain principles

“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)

• Those principles, as defined by Jay Rosen– “Every individual has

something to contribute”

“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)

• Those principles, as defined by Jay Rosen– “Every individual has

something to contribute”

– “People are capable of making their own decisions”

“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)

• Those principles, as defined by Jay Rosen– “Every individual has

something to contribute”

– “People are capable of making their own decisions”

– “The world is knowable if we teach ourselves how to study … it”

“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)

• Rosen on Dewey: “A ‘public’ is a name for people who share certain problems and a common stake in their resolution. Publics come into their own when this shared stake is understood and talked about, in a fruitful way.”

The end of experts

But expertise has value

Dewey and journalism

• Is his vision compatible with the View from Nowhere?

Dewey and journalism

• Is his vision compatible with the View from Nowhere?

• Getting beyond “Bowling Alone”

Dewey and journalism

• Is his vision compatible with the View from Nowhere?

• Getting beyond “Bowling Alone”

• How can journalism involve the public in a meaningful way?