Page 187 - Carbon Capitalism and Communication Confronting Climate Crisis

14 JOURNALISM, CLIMATE COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ALTERNATIVES 181

consequences; keep in mind journalism’s distinct capacity for an indepen-
dent gaze, one that separates it from propaganda or social movements
(Calcutt and Hammond 2011). Cox’s criteria are also reasonably consis-
tent with the recognized democratic functions of journalism in monitoring
power, surveying the physical and social environment for threats to
well-being, and facilitating inclusive societal conversation on matters of
public importance (Hackett et al. 2013, p. 36).
Fortunately, educators, researchers and practitioners who want jour-
nalism to productively engage publics on climate politics, do not need to
reinvent the wheel. Two relevant paradigms emerged during the 1990s and
2000s respectively—civic (or public) journalism in the US, and peace
journalism, internationally. Each generated a theoretical rationale,
methodological guidance, pedagogical tools, some empirical evaluation,
many on-the-ground projects—and a challenge to conventional journal-
ism. Civic journalism (CJ; also known as Public Journalism) was born out
of a widespread sense of democratic “malaise” and a “disconnect” between
American publics, on the one hand, and politicians and media, on the
other. Its core premise is the ethical and practical requirement for jour-
nalism not simply to report elite statements or to reproduce official political
agendas, but actively to help reinvigorate public life. Drawing on the
theories of American pragmatist John Dewey and German philosopher
Jurgen Habermas, newspaper editor Davis “Buzz” Merritt and New York
University academic Jay Rosen mapped out this new model during the
1990s, in the context of declining newspaper circulations and growing
popular distrust of the press (see e.g. Merritt 1995; Rosen 1991). In some
typical cases, news organizations (especially newspapers in mid-sized
American cities) actively sponsored public discussions, ranging from
neighbourhood pizza parties to town hall meetings, published information
to animate such deliberation, and reported on the outcome. The idea was
to engage publics and encourage them to articulate their concerns and
priorities, and thereby to help set political and media agendas. The
experiments carried out under the rubric of civic journalism—an estimated
600 by 2002 (Rosenberry and St. John III 2010)—have received mixed
assessments. Supporters tout improved deliberative processes for commu-
nities, improved civic skills and favourable responses from citizens,
responsive policy outcomes, expanded number of civic organizations, and
broader inclusion of citizen voices in the news (Friedland and Nichols
2002). Others are more skeptical about the spread and staying power of CJ
within corporate media, or its influence on journalists’ professional