As technology and public expectations have expanded journalism into a practice shared by many, criticism remains the province of a relative few. Bloggers have added their voices to professionals' self-criticism, and social media have vastly expanded opportunities for dialogic exchanges. Building on earlier research, this article seeks to expand journalism criticism by applying the dominant public relations model of two-way symmetrical communication. This includes collaboration, compromise, listening, and a desire to balance power-attributes that can enable journalists to be transparent, accountable, and autonomous if they publicly replicate the thoughtfulness of conversations they have long had among themselves.
Above-ground atomic testing has long occupied an iconic place in twentieth-century history. The mushroom cloud was a symbol not only of the Cold War but also ofpromised advances in science and prosperity. An examination of 600 news articles and editorials from the early 1950s sheds light on how the tests were reported. Coverage of dozens of blasts at the Nevada Test Site reveals journalists struggling to make sense of a force that was simultaneously awe-inspiring, threatening, and routine. Accounts in national, state, and local newspapers convey a complex picture-some were enthusiastic boosters ofnuclear testing, while others posedpointed questions about the health implications ofradioactive fallout. The purpose ofthis research is to help understand reporting on atomic testing as a health and safety issue, not simply a political or military one. It complements earlier scholarship by suggesting that coverage was more influenced by news routines than by a reluctance to watchdog authority. It concludes that the forces that enable and constrain modern reporting on scientific, health, or environmental issues might trace their roots back to the early atomic age.
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