Encyclopedia of Journalism, Volumes 1-6.pdf

*Starred Review* Since the Woodward-Bernstein investigation of the Watergate scandal, journalism—or more broadly, “the media”—has secured a major role in American political and cultural life. The Encyclopedia of Journalism is the most ambitious reference work published on this topic to date. Containing about 360 A–Z entries in four volumes, plus two volumes of appendixes, it covers “trends, issues, concepts, individuals, institutions, media outlets, and events.” Each of the first four volumes has a cumulative index and a list of entries, which provide easy access to the entire encyclopedia. The editor worked with several hundred contributors who are mostly affiliated with colleges and universities. Although the Encyclopedia primarily focuses on U.S. media, some countries, such as Israel, India, and the Russian Federation, are included. The scope of the coverage is wide and ranges from industry and economics (under such entries as Advertising and Labor unions); to controversies (Advertorials, Checkbook journalism); to news agencies and services (Associated Press, Clipping services); to online journalism (Blogs and bloggers, Podcasting); to numerous other subjects, such as Comics, Environmental journalism, and Newsweekly magazines. The entries vary in length from 1,000 to 4,000 words. Given the vastness of the subject, certain categories had to be limited or omitted. Only very brief biographies appear under some entries but are not presented separately; and individual newspapers (except for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the International Herald Tribune) are not covered. One surprising and disappointing omission is the ethnic press. The encyclopedia does contain entries on African American, Latino, and Native American media but omits the remarkable range of newspapers and other media serving historical and recent immigrant communities to the U.S. Despite this omission, the volumes offer many fascinating essays and unique articles, with Hoaxes, English roots of the free press, and Special interest journalism organizations being just a few examples. Especially meritorious are the appendixes, containing court decisions, codes of ethics, journalism education standards and critiques, and other useful primary documents. Additional helpful features include lists of journalism awards and prizes and ratings published by Freedom House on press freedom in individual countries. The reference value of the encyclopedia is further enhanced by a superb annotated bibliography and cumulative indexes that provide outstanding keyword detail. Highly recommended for academic libraries and large public libraries. --Donald Altschiller

Hardcover: 3136 pages
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc; annotated edition edition (September 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761929576
ISBN-13: 978-0761929574