Mitchell Stephens is a professor of journalism and mass communications at New York University. He is the author of A History of News, an extended history of journalism that has been translated into four languages and was a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year.” His latest book, The Rise of the Image, the Fall of the Word, a historical analysis of our current communications revolution, was published by Oxford University Press. Professor Stephens is also the author of Broadcast News, the most widely used radio and television news textbook, and the co-author of Writing and Reporting the News. In recent years, he has written numerous articles on media issues and aspects of contemporary thought for publications such as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Columbia Journalism Review. His research project argued for a proposed change in the priorities of our major news organizations providing extra value-informed analysis.
Beyond News: The Case for Wisdom Journalism
June 1, 2009
A paper by Mitchell Stephens, spring 2009 fellow, argues that as major news events now appear fast and free on Google, Yahoo or a hundred other websites, “stenographic recording” of news events has lost much of its value. Journalists will have to provide something else of use to readers: “wisdom journalism.” Stephens defines wisdom journalism
