NYT and the Great Recession: Watchdogs and Business News Values at Work
Speaker
Prof. Nikki Usher
Sponsor
Location
Journalism Building, Room 607B
Time
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Description
Take occupywallstreet - and Andrew Ross Sorkin's column on the personal safety of everyday traders - and you might think of the New York Times business section as one that cares little about anyone other than investors. However, after a five month ethnographic study of the New York Times business desk in the wake of the Great Recession, news decision-making reveals some business news values that some might not expect: a suspicion of capitalist excess, a strong-minded faith in fairness to consumers, and a belief in the importance of the world economy. This talk pairs these findings with another, related question, which is that given these sentiments during the Great Recession, where was The Times during the lead-up to the crisis? Using journalists' own reflections, The Times' ability and efficacy as a watchdog will be considered.
Nikki Usher is an assistant professor at George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Prior to receiving her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication, Dr. Usher worked as a journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. She came to academia for two reasons: the first because she saw that traditional news was in trouble, and the second, because she saw that traditional newsrooms have great opportunities in the digital age. Her dissertation, now being shaped into a book, focused on an in-depth ethnography of five months spent at The New York Times, where she studied the paper going through transition in a digital age. Dr. Usher has also conducted extensive field research at places such as NPR, The Christian Science Monitor, TheStreet.com, and The International Herald Tribune. Dr. Usher’s research interests are in the intersection of journalism, new media, and innovation. She has published academic articles in journals such as New Media and Society, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, and First Monday, and multiple book chapters, including a chapter in Will the Last Reporter Please Turn out the Lights.She is also a blogger for Harvard’s Nieman Lab. Her latest project is a collaboration with University of Minnesota professor Seth Lewis on open source and journalism.
This event is free and open to all. Lunch and beverages will be served
