Journalism: context, text, practice and the politics of academic research

This project interrogates current theoretical analyses of journalism and makes the case for a sustained critique of journalism from a culture studies perspective. Case studies of recent mainstream and alternative reportage of politics, war, crime, celebrity culture, lifestyle and sports will explore how journalism articulates and shapes the exercise and deliberation of power in everyday life through discourses and structures of govern mentality, economic, citizenship, public and private spheres. These examples, together with interview material from media professionals, will also be used to reveal the complex way in which practitioners assess and structure the public dimensions of their role and output.