Making journalism more public

The problem of "the public" is at issue in both journalism and communication studies. Students of communication need to find ways of discussing the public that do not, openly or implicitly, dismiss it, while in journalism the public remains an essential category. According to Dewey, the problem of the public is to improve "the methods and conditions of debate, discussion and persuasion." With Dewey's notion in mind, this article discusses some ways in which journalism might become "more public," meaning more supportive of a public sphere of discussion and debate. It also suggests a "more public" approach to the study and criticism of the press.