Journalists and the public: newsroom culture, letters to the editor and democracy

Citizen participation in politics is central to successful democracies. Yet there is increasing concern about the lack of opportunities for and interest in political participation. This book raises questions about the relationship between citizenship, journalism, and democracy by looking at how journalists deal with letters to the editor--an enduring forum for public debate. Based on ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with journalists who work with letters, the book examines how these journalists understand the public, and how they view of newspaper's role in democracy. It looks at how these "gatekeepers" select letters, privileging some voices while silencing others. Journalists want to serve the public and facilitate debate. However, while they love the idea of the public, the constraints and time pressures that shape their work conspire to create a culture that has little time for those members of the public who actually bother to participate