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They say journalism is the “first rough draft of history.”

But what would a journalism oriented toward serving the highest values of liberal democracy look like? How would it work? How might it differ from the journalism of the past and the present?

In 2020, the annus horribilis, I read more journalism than ever before. And that’s saying something, since I’m a journalism professor and journalism historian.

I read news of the day and news of the past every single day, ping-ponging between my obsessive need to know everything about the coronavirus, the Trump administration, and my beloved community of Western Massachusetts and my research into the role of white newspaper leaders in building white supremacy in the South post-Reconstruction.

2021 beckons, and I have thoughts to share about what I’ve learned about the role of journalism in U.S. democracy, past and present—the terrible failures, the shining successes, the enduring problems.

Of course, I will also have thoughts to share about news of the day. And I’m sure you will, too! I hope you’ll join me in conversation about journalism, history, and democracy.

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UMass Amherst Journalism @umassjournalism | journalism/media historian | books, news, politics, racial justice | Southerner in New England