Journalism and the Future of Democracy

“Muller draws on his mastery of the history of the discourse about press freedom to grapple with the problems of the news media in the age of journalism disinvestment and viral disinformation. He makes a forceful case for a new approach to the norms of news media conduct, and his call for democratic revival will spark useful discussion about what is to be done."

 -  John Nerone, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, USA

 This book is about how journalism can contribute to the recovery of democracy from the crisis exemplified by the Trump presidency, the Brexit referendum and the rise of populism across the Western world. It explores the ethical concepts that provide the foundation for journalism in modern democracies: pluralism, liberalism, tolerance, truth, free speech, and impartiality. History has shown that crisis brings opportunity for change on a scale that is unachievable under ordinary political conditions, and this book proposes fundamental ways in which journalism can help democratic societies seize the moment. It traces the development of traditional mass media and social media and explores how the two might work better together to benefit democratic life. The development of press theory is described, and enhanced by a proposed new theory, Democratic Revival.

Denis Muller is Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of Journalism Ethics for the Digital Age (2014), and Media Ethics and Disasters (2011). He is a former Assistant Editor, investigations, of The Sydney Morning Herald and Associate Editor of The Age, Melbourne.