Encyclopedia of journalism

Abstract

Encyclopedia of Journalism. Christopher H. Sterling, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009. 3,136 pp. $795 hbk. It's difficult to imagine a sector of society - especially one that so utterly affects us as citizens - that is more in a state of flux right now than journalism. And so it was a daring (and arguably crucial) deed for broadcasting scholar Christopher Sterling to embark on a sixvolume Encyclopedia of Journalism. Daring because what we see now is subject to change swiftly, and crucial because this moment is unique and undoubtedly changing forever the way the profession and its institutions function. Sterling is a professor of media and public policy and public administration at George Washington University; his bailiwick is communications history, and he is alarmingly prolific on a variety of media topics. He knows from reference resources, too, having edited a small library of them, and is the founder and editor of Communication Booknotes Quarterly, now in its forty-first year. In this tome, he marshaled nearly 200 expert contributors to document where we are in this profession that peers over a precipice. Despite its size, the set is admirably organized and user-friendly. In addition to a complete list of entries at the beginning of the first four volumes, there is a Reader's Guide in Volume 1, where entries are categorized into some twenty areas such as History and Culture of Journalism; Ethnic and Minority Journalism; Organizations; Magazines; Newspaper Types; Technology; and Processes and Routines of Journalism. There is a cumulative index in each volume, adding to the heft but making it much easier to use. There are the obliging references for those who use different journalism dialects - for instance, a user looking up Journalists' Privilege is referred to Shield Law. Living up to Sterling's description from the introduction that the set ...surveys the state of journalism at the end of the twenty-first century's first decade, virtually every entry emphasizes the evolution of the respective concept or issue, ending on the state of its impact on the profession or how the particular aspect of journalism has been impacted by, most notably and unavoidably, the age of the Internet. But history is given its due as well. There are four entries on the history of journalism: pre-1861, 1861-1930, 19301995, and 1995 to present. The encyclopedia's focus is on ...the gathering, editing, reporting, and distribution of news. Its territory is the United States as a whole, but with reference to other countries and specific locations where appropriate; for example, Japan and Los Angeles are both profiled with reference to their place in American journalism. The 350 or so entries, which are signed and range from about 1,000 to 4,000 words, read like rigorous long-form journalism. Volumes 1 through 4 contain the A-Z entries, including a wide range of concepts from Advertorials, Bandwagon Journalism, and Cable Television, to Terrorism (coverage of), Violence Against Journalists, and the Wall Street Journal. The tone of the entries has wide audience appeal. See Also's and Further Readings round out each entry, as they should with any good encyclopedia. The entry for Editors, for example, is no glossary-type item. The author provides a mini-history of the role and its origins, followed by bios of notable newspaper and magazine editors such as Horace Greeley, Ben Bradlee, Helen Gurley Brown, and Clay Felker. The Criticism of Journalism entry is an efficient survey of types from self-criticism to the more voluminous external sources ranging from selective coverage, bias, and ownership concentration to government influence and media watchdog groups. The likes of Murrow, Mencken, and Chomsky find their place here. The Podcasting entry describes the technology, how it works, and how it impacts the role of the reporter. Such an essay is ideal for the born-digital student who needs to put words to something that is as natural and indescribable as breathing as well as for a Luddite (or Web 1. …