Response

Question 1: I think Civic Journalism needs to be practiced more in the United States for many reasons. Civic Journalism is an art of expression and allows readers to view opinions, ideas, and the thoughts of others. It also is a great way to know what is happening in society and in your community. I think Civic Journalism is a way to reach out to the community and bring it together. A lot of people look past the "municipal life" and don't take time to notice what is happening in their surrondings; civic journalism allows you to know what is pubically happening. I believe Civic Journalism has a lot of advantages and that is why it should be practiced more.

Question 2: In the article it states that journalists, "uphold the public's right to know, a spirit of openness and honesty in the conduct of public business, the free flow of information and ideas, along with truthfulness, accuracy, balance and fair play in the news". I agree that this is what journalists stand for. They allow the public to not be blind sighted about imortant news and other information. They also provide information that is accurate and it is unlike news you hear from "word-of-mouth". I think that journalists in the United States can't really be defined. There are all different journalists and they don't stand for one thing; yet many continue to write or discuss what sells. In the business world it is all about what sells and makes the most money, so journalists feed us gossip on celebrities and things that really have no affect on our everyday lives. People get too caught up in everyone's lives but their own; so I believe journalists should talk about important things that pretain to our "own" lives. Topics such as poverty, new medicines, great discoveries, politics, and world news should be covered. It is sad to see that people know more about celebrities than their own surrondings.

Question 3: I think journalists should connect with their readers, blog, and create community projects. It is important because a lot of people share common ideas and thoughts, and it is beneficial to express them. I think this could allow people to bring about more change in their communities and make them better. I have not personally participated in any form of community journalism; yet would be interested to do so in the future. I think people need writers who won't just write about "gossip", but writers who will fill people's brains with information that is useful and captivating at the same time.