Comparing Gender and Media Equality across the Globe: A Cross-National Study of the Qualities, Causes and Consequences of Gender Equality in and through the News Media, Monika Djerf-Pierre and Maria Edstrom (eds) (2020)

Review of: Comparing Gender and Media Equality across the Globe: A Cross-National Study of the Qualities, Causes and Consequences of Gender Equality in and through the News Media, Monika Djerf-Pierre and Maria Edstrom (eds) (2020) Göteburg: Nordicom, 338 pp., ISBN 978-91-88855-33-6, p/bk, €28.00 ISBN 978-91-88855-32-9, PDF, €28.00 Available as Open Access at http://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1502571/FULLTEXT02.pdf.

The Ethics of Photojournalism in the Digital Age, Miguel F. Santos Silva and Scott A. Eldridge II (2020)

Review of: The Ethics of Photojournalism in the Digital Age, Miguel F. Santos Silva and Scott A. Eldridge II (2020) Abingdon: Routledge, 166 pp., ISBN 978-1-13858-629-1, h/bk, $201.60 ISBN 978-0-42950-468-6, ebk, $53.59 ISBN 978-1-13858-630-7, p/bk, $59.19

Journalism, Society and Politics in the Digital Media Era, Nael Jebril, Stephen Jukes, Sofia Iordanidou and Emmanouil Takas (eds) (2020)

Review of: Journalism, Society and Politics in the Digital Media Era, Nael Jebril, Stephen Jukes, Sofia Iordanidou and Emmanouil Takas (eds) (2020) Bristol and Chicago, IL: Intellect, 211 pp., ISBN 978-1-78938-168-9, h/bk, $ 135.00 ISBN 978-1-78938-170-2, ebk, $ 104.00

Democracy without Journalism?: Confronting the Misinformation Society, Victor Pickard (2019)

Review of: Democracy without Journalism?: Confronting the Misinformation Society, Victor Pickard (2019) Abingdon: Oxford University Press, 248 pp., ISBN 978-0-19094-675-3, h/bk, £64.00 ISBN 978-0-19094-676-0, p/bk, £18.99 ISBN 978-0-19094-678-4, ebk, AUD 20.23

The Digital World of Sport: The Impact of Emerging Media on Sports News, Information and Journalism, Sam Duncan (2020)

Review of: The Digital World of Sport: The Impact of Emerging Media on Sports News, Information and Journalism, Sam Duncan (2020) London: Anthem Press, 176 pp., ISBN 978-1-78527-505-0, h/bk, $125.00 ISBN 978-1-78527-507-4, ebk, $40.00

Journalists and Confidential Sources: Colliding Public Interests in the Age of the Leak, Joseph M. Fernandez (2021)

Review of: Journalists and Confidential Sources: Colliding Public Interests in the Age of the Leak, Joseph M. Fernandez (2021) Abingdon: Routledge, 300 pp., ISBN 978-0-36747-412-6, h/bk, $252.00 ISBN 978-1-00303-541-1, ebk, $63.89

Beyond Journalism, Mark Deuze and Tamara Witschge (2020)

Review of: Beyond Journalism, Mark Deuze and Tamara Witschge (2020) Cambridge: Polity Press, 148 pp., ISBN 978-0-74564-342-7, p/bk, $30.25 ISBN 978-0-74564-341-0, h/bk, $57.00 ISBN 978-0-74564-341-8, ebk, $26.99

Blessed be the educated journalist: Reflections on a religious literacy gap in the field of journalism

Religion has ‘returned’ to news discourses, since 9/11, with a focus on Muslims and Islam and more recently on Catholicism (in the wake of paedophile priest scandals) and anti-Semitism (with the rise of the far-right movements). These news discourses, however, tend to adopt limited perspectives, and do not reflect the diversity of practices and viewpoints within these religious traditions. As Australia becomes increasingly ‘superdiverse’, there is a greater need for the inclusivity of cultural perspectives of these religions. Current research findings show that religious literacy among media practitioners in Australia is not only limited to specific notions about a small number of religions, it is exacerbated by an Anglo-Celtic dominance in the media workforce. This article suggests that for news media to provide a more culturally and religiously inclusive public service to promote societal understanding, current and emerging journalists require a more reflexive understanding of religions, through journalism studies and humanities more broadly, and how they have historically shaped the world, and continue to do so.

Mining a news desert: The impact of a local newspaper’s closure on political participation and engagement in the rural Australian town of Lightning Ridge

This article examines how a local newspaper’s closure impacts the way everyday people in a rural Australian town are informed about and engage with political affairs. It draws on a two-month focused ethnographic study in the outback town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, and explores people’s media-related practices following the closure of the town’s only newspaper, The Ridge News, in 2015. While social media is considered to have partly filled a news void, there is an increasingly fragmented and less vibrant local public sphere that has led to growing complacency among individuals about political affairs. Local residents highlight a dearth of reliable, credible information and lament the loss of the newspaper and its role in community advocacy and fostering people’s engagement with political institutions, especially local government.