Sage Publications Foundations of Community Journalism

Foundations of Community Journalism: A Primer for Research is the first and only book to focus on how to understand and conduct research in this ever increasing field. With chapters written by established journalism academics and teachers, the book provides students and researchers with an understanding of the multiple and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of community journalism, with what community journalism is as a research concept, and with a range of different methods and theories that can be applied to community journalism research. While there are numerous ′how-to′ community journalism manuals for students and newspaper editors, none contains the focus on how to conduct research into community journalism - a focus needed in this era of accountability. Review This book has been needed for so long [and will make] a tremendous contribution. Community journalism and journalism’s relation to communities and community formation, maintenance and destruction has never been as relevant as now, yet there is not one source that provides an adequate overview of research and a synthesis of the most relevant content in the area. [This book] promises to be a widely cited foundation work in the area… I’ve waited years for a book like this. -- Doug Fisher Published On: 2011-02-01 About the Author Bill Reader (M.A. & B.A.; The Pennsylvania State University) is a tenured Associate Professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. He has been teaching journalism at the collegiate level since 1997, and was a working journalist (reporter, photographer, copy editor, and opinion-page editor) from 1992 to 2000. He is the author of several studies of journalism ethics and practice published in top peer-reviewed journals, as well as a co-authored book about journalism ethics and several chapters for academic books. He was the founding research chair of the Community Journalism Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and has served as secretary, vice-chair, and chair of that group. Reader also is an academic partner and steering-committee member of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues and an active member of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. He is a member of the editorial board of Newspaper Research Journal and served as guest editor of a special issue of the journal focused on community newspapers. John A. Hatcher (Ph.D. & M.A., Syracuse University; B.A., Humboldt State University) is an Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Minnesota Duluth and has taught journalism at the collegiate level since 2001. He studied mass communication and political communication at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He has written about the sociology of news and community journalism for academic and professional publications and has published numerous articles on community journalism in peer-reviewed journals. He has 15 years of experience as a newspaper reporter, editor, and columnist. From 2000 to 2003 he was Education Director of the Center for Community Journalism, where he worked as a consultant for community newspapers and wrote extensively about the community press for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and the National Newspaper Association. Hatcher was a founding member of the Community Journalism Interest Group of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and has served as secretary and membership chair of that group. He also is a member of the Minnesota Newspaper Association Education Committee.