Journalism as a Conversation

Author’s note: This is part of a continuing series on the nuts-and-bolts of my dissertation on journalism as a conversation. Where appropriate, I link back to related posts in the series.

Tumblr’s fun, yall, but time to resume posts about the dissertation proper. When I first applied to doc programs, I was torn between two life-long passions: journalism and film. I even thought about combining the two and dissertating about depictions of journalists on film. 

By the time I was leaving The Seattle Times to start my doctorate in 2006, the news business seemed to be in freefall: plummeting circulations, layoffs, buyouts and, soon, bankruptcies and closures. Virtually every person who said good-bye told me I’d better use my education to help figure out a solution to the problems.