On Theory Of American Public Journalism

This paper is on the subject of American public journalism emerging around the 1990s. By means of studying numerous documents and literatures, it sketches the development of American public journalism and probes into the social background, theory background and main view of the theories of public journalism, and draws that theories of public journalism in American results from introspection of public quality of traditional journalism, reflecting the ideals of the faith of media responsibility and return of with public quality. Theory of public journalism examines audience concept, reporter's ethics and practices of traditional journalism, forms a series of publics philosophy, reporter's ethics and corresponding news practice principles in order to make public function of journalism more efficiency. Relation of the publics, reporters and public life is the focal point and core of theories of public journalism.In addition, this paper probes into the practice characteristics of public journalism and problem that the public journalism faces, and points out public journalism is not only a series of news practice, but also a way and attitude of treats and deals with social affairs, a kind of philosophy that should be carried out to the activity of daily dissemination of news, that is social responsibility, reason, tolerance, dialogue and deliberation. Any kind of public journalism practice must fail if it ignores its aim and public quality of news.