Around the nation, magazines inspired by Foxfire combine the techniques of oral history and photography to portray cultures that are unique and values that are universal. All of these publications use cultural journalism. Whether in community-based publications for specific audiences or in widely circulated books, newspapers, and magazines, cultural journalists examine the ways of living that make a region or cultural group unique. Perhaps most significantly, cultural journalists are apt to find in their examinations ideas relevant to the present and the future. As the world grows smaller, the mutual understanding of diverse groups of people becomes more important to peace and cooperation.
Cultural journalism is a vehicle to promote such understanding.
Wigginton clearly believes this is the case. As a microcosm of world cultures, the United States is a unique resource for cultural journalists who can begin with their own families and communities to interpret the significance of the diverse origins of cultures and peoples. Even in the mass media, articles and broadcasts have increasingly documented the influence of culture on relationships between countries as well as on groups within countries. Perhaps the efforts of students' cultural journalism has had an influence. It can encompass a curriculum of several courses and extracurricular activities as well.