lippmann and dewey
TRANSCRIPT
“What Are Journalists For?”
• Jay Rosen describes the debate between Lippmann and Dewey in his 1999 book
“What Are Journalists For?”
• Jay Rosen describes the debate between Lippmann and Dewey in his 1999 book
• Today Rosen would probably ask “What Is Journalism For?”
“What Are Journalists For?”
• Jay Rosen describes the debate between Lippmann and Dewey in his 1999 book
• Today Rosen would probably ask “What Is Journalism For?”
Walter Lippmann
• Disillusioned by propaganda to build support for World War I
• A founder of The New Republic
Walter Lippmann
• Disillusioned by propaganda to build support for World War I
• A founder of The New Republic
• Came to believe that the public should havea limited role in democracy
“Public Opinion” (1922)
• Most people are busy, ill-informed and ill-suited for self-government
• “Manufacturing consent”
“Public Opinion” (1922)
• Most people are busy, ill-informed and ill-suited for self-government
• “Manufacturing consent”
• Lippmann put his faith in experts — a stance that later changed
John Dewey
• Philosopher, psychologist and education reformer
• Maintained a strong belief in democracy
John Dewey
• Philosopher, psychologist and education reformer
• Maintained a strong belief in democracy
• A fellow contributor to The New Republic, he wrote a book-length response to Lippmann
“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)
• Democracy is less a system of government than a society organized around certain principles
“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)
• Those principles, as defined by Jay Rosen– “Every individual has
something to contribute”
“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)
• Those principles, as defined by Jay Rosen– “Every individual has
something to contribute”
– “People are capable of making their own decisions”
“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)
• Those principles, as defined by Jay Rosen– “Every individual has
something to contribute”
– “People are capable of making their own decisions”
– “The world is knowable if we teach ourselves how to study … it”
“The Public & Its Problems” (1927)
• Rosen on Dewey: “A ‘public’ is a name for people who share certain problems and a common stake in their resolution. Publics come into their own when this shared stake is understood and talked about, in a fruitful way.”
Dewey and journalism
• Is his vision compatible with the View from Nowhere?
• Getting beyond “Bowling Alone”