| Public journalism became an official movement in the United States in 1993. Its advocates hail the movement, which aims to facilitate social change, as a practical way of helping to restore the ideal of participatory democracy; detractors counter that public journalism smacks of a brand of activism that weakens the Fourth Estate's credibility. Nevertheless, the movement has taken hold in dozens of mid-sized cities in the United States and shows few signs of waning. Emerging research credits public journalism with, among other things, restoring citizens' faith in the institutions—including the news media—that they used to distrust.; It is for this reason that the CBC, which is yet again in search of a way to make itself more distinct from the private broadcasters, should take a serious look at what the movement has to offer. Public journalism may help Canada's public broadcaster infuse new meaning into a mandate that, in part, calls on it to enlighten and inform. |
