Long description:

In counterpoint to conventional examinations of images of journalism which tend to concentrate on its informational role in the political process, this book provides a lively analysis of journalism in its other guise - as entertainment.

In a series of interrelated studies, the authors examine the theoretical problems in assessing popular journalism and consider common examples of its manifestations - its relationship to media stars, the coverage of sport, and the presentation of news in a `popular' form.

`Fine collection' - Choice

`In the staid world of journalism research, it is a delight to see an attempt to open that focus of inquiry to new interpretive frames. Such is the case with Journalism and Popular Culture , which spends a good portion of its 214 pages debunking existing frames for considering journalism and suggesting alternative ways of thinking about what we commonly call news. From sports television to practices of photographic documentary, this collection provides an impressive range of relevant research. In doing so, it underscores the rigidity of existing categories with which we have come to think about news and points to the need for rethinking them.... Particularly valuable is the introduction by Peter Dahlgren.... Most of these papers were originally given at a 1990 cultural studies colloquium. In the vein of that symposium, the collection's authors argue that we need to allow a variety of people - and not only journalists - their say in determining what journalism is and could be. Through its analyses of topics as wide-ranging as celebrity coverage, tabloid practices, and coverage of marginalized groups, this volume takes definitive steps toward achieving that aim' - Popular Communication

`The authors concentrate on non-fictional journalism in popular culture, to remedy a previous bias in popular culture studies which have emphasized fiction.... Several of the writers develop serious theoretical approaches which go beyond the mere description of examples from popular journalism' - Communication Research Trends