Zelizer Publishes New Book, What Journalism Could Be

Zelizer examines journalism’s complicated history, prompting readers to rethink how the news works and why it matters.

By Ashton Yount

Barbie Zelizer, Raymond Williams Professor of Communication and Director of the Scholars Program in Culture and Communication at the Annenberg School, is the author of a new book: What Journalism Could Be (Wiley).

Cover of Barbie Zelizer's 'What Journalism Could Be'. The background is teal, and in the middle is a big white thought bubble that has the title in orange text. At the bottom of the thought bubble is the author's name in white.

One of journalism’s leading contemporary scholars, Zelizer asks readers to reimagine the news in What Journalism Could Be. She charts a path through journalism’s complicated history, prompting readers to rethink both how the news works and why it matters.

Zelizer tackles longstanding givens in journalism’s practice and study, offering alternatives for assessing its contemporary environment. Highlighting journalism’s intersection with many other fields, Zelizer brings new meaning to its engagement with events like the global refugee crisis, the rise of Islamic State, the ascent of digital media, and twenty-first-century combat.

What Journalism Could Be requires the reader to think creatively, as Zelizer suggests bold and innovative ways of engaging with journalism’s considerable current challenges. This book powerfully demonstrates how and why journalism remains important.

The book also includes contributions by Doctoral Student Jennifer R. Henrichsen and Doctoral Candidate Natacha Yazbeck.