Media Smackdown

Abe Aamidor began his journalism career with the Chicago Reader and later wrote for The (Champaign-Urbana) News-Gazette, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and The Indianapolis Star. He is a past president of The Indianapolis Newspaper Guild. He has taught journalism at Indiana University, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, Georgia Southern University, and Butler University. He is the author of Real Feature Writing (2nd Edition, 2006) and editor of Real Sports Reporting (2003). Jim A. Kuypers is Associate Professor of Communication at Virginia Tech. He is the author or editor of eight books, including Doing News Framing Analysis: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives (2009, co-edited) and Bush’s War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age (2006). He is a former editor for the American Communication Journal. He is the recipient of the American Communication Association’s Outstanding Contribution to Communication Scholarship Award. Susan Wiesinger is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Journalism and Public Relations at California State University, Chico. She is a former newspaper reporter, editor, and publisher whose research focuses on the interaction among media, technology, and culture. She completed an AEJMC-Scripps Howard externship at The Oregonian, and is an Indiana University Teaching Fellow and an Alan H. Monroe Scholar at Purdue University.

• Contents: Abe Aamidor/Jim A. Kuypers: Why Journalism Matters – Abe Aamidor: The Rise and Fall of the Newspaper Industry – Susan Wiesinger: The Evolution of Media Technologies – Abe Aamidor: Regulating the Press, Guaranteeing a Free Press – Abe Aamidor: New Business Models for Journalism – Jim A. Kuypers: Issues of Bias in the News Media: How Our Reality Is Shaped by the News – Abe Aamidor: What Liberal Media? – Abe Aamidor/Jim A. Kuypers/Susan Wiesinger: The Future of Journalism.

«The rise and fall of newspapers presents a failed business model but not failed journalism. Major issues in journalism are thoroughly explored and a roadmap for the future of journalism concludes this book.» (James W. Brown, Indiana University School of Journalism) «…Journalism is in trouble, largely from its own hand. The authors navigate the current state of the field and conclude with a much-needed call to action for students and practitioners.» (Hal W. Fulmer, Troy University)«This is a thoughtful, well-researched book crafted with an eye toward readability ... Whether a journalist, academic, or interested general reader, Media Smackdown will offer insights into the contemporary difficulties and possibilities facing journalism today.» (Robert E. Denton, Jr., Virginia Tech) «This book is written in blunt language. It pulls no punches in its dissection of the news industry’s malaise, and it plays no favorites. In short, it's the kick in the pants that's long overdue.» (Stephen D. Cooper, Marshall University) «Readers get an encyclopedic review of the tumultuous and painful transition of newspapers in the technology age.» (Ward Bushee, Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle)