In one instance, a televised satellite debate between the two 1995 gubernatorial candidates, Dave Johnston was able to pin the politicians in a corner. A private citizen, Johnston was empowered by We the People to get exactly what he wanted from the candidates. During the debate, he told the candidates, We haven t bought the answers on property tax reform that you ve given us. And we would like a specific commitment from you tonight that you would provide, in writing, in detail, your plan on how you are going to raise the revenues or cut the programs to meet the property tax. These are examples of news media behaving in different ways than the public is used to.
Traditional journalism dictates strict objectivity from the reporter.
Journalists often distance themselves from issues on which they report in order to be an outside observer. Recently, and often with the support of the Pew Center for Public Journalism, newspapers and other media have started to approach stories with new goals. Under the name public journalism, the news media is starting to act as a catalyst to solve community problems not just report them. In public journalism, the power of the news media is levied against community issues that might not be conquerable without the media s aid. Jay Rosen, associate professor of journalism at New York University, describes the role of news media under public journalism.