Literature Review
Before examining how the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service presents or represents the communities it serves, or analyzing the work that it has done so far, it is wise to review what other scholars have found and written about a major component of NNS’ goals and aspirations: the relationship between journalism and community. Among the questions that scholars in sociology and journalism studies have posed are the following: 1) What is a community and who decides whether it exists? 2) What is journalism and to what extent should its practitioners focus on all that happens in a community? 3) What does it mean to be a journalist and to what extent should he or she, or any given news organization, seek to impact a community’s future? 4) Does it matter whether people get to share their stories and or read about their neighbors solely online?
This literature review begins with a brief discussion of the more general concept of community, then tracks the discussion of journalism and its relationship to community through additional definitions and perspectives – all as they relate to NNS.
This literature review begins with a brief discussion of the more general concept of community, then tracks the discussion of journalism and its relationship to community through additional definitions and perspectives – all as they relate to NNS.