The Crisis of the Institutional Press

As polarized factions in society pull apart from economic dislocation, tribalism, and fear, and as strident attacks on the press make its survival more precarious, the need for an institutionally organized forum in civic life has become increasingly important. Populist challenges amplified by a counter-institutional media system have contributed to the long-term decline in journalistic authority, exploiting a post-truth mentality that strikes at its very core. 

In this timely book, Stephen Reese considers these threats through a new conception of the ‘hybrid institution’: an idea that extends beyond the traditional newsroom, and distributes across multiple platforms, national boundaries, and social actors. What is it about the institutional press that we value, and around what normative standards could a hybrid institution emerge? Addressing these questions, Reese highlights how this is no time to be passive but rather to articulate and defend greater aspirations. The institutional press matters more than ever: a reality that must be communicated to a public that depends on it. 

The Crisis of the Institutional Press is an essential resource for students and scholars of journalism, media and communication.

Stephen D. Reese is the Jesse H. Jones Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Preface

Acknowledgments

1 The Crisis of the Institutional Press
2 Enemies of the Institution
3 Defining the Institution
4 The Implicated Institution
5 The Emerging Hybrid Institution
6 The Sustainable Institution
7 Aspirations for the Institution Epilogue

Notes
References
Index