UNC Press - Community Journalism

456 pp., 7 x 10, 62 illus., bibl., index

H. Eugene and Lillian Youngs Lehman Series

Paper

ISBN 978-0-8078-5629-1

Published: January 2006

Community Journalism

Relentlessly Local

By Jock Lauterer

Third Edition

No matter how ambitious they may be, most novice journalists don't get their start at the New York Times. They get their first jobs at smaller local community newspapers that require a different style of reporting than the detached, impersonal approach expected of major international publications. As the primary textbook and sourcebook for the teaching and practice of local journalism and newspaper publishing in the United States, Community Journalism addresses the issues a small-town newspaper writer or publisher is likely to face.

Jock Lauterer covers topics ranging from why community journalism is important and distinctive; to hints for reporting and writing with a "community spin"; to design, production, photojournalism, and staff management. This third edition introduces new chapters on adjusting to changing demographics in the community and "best practices" for community papers. Updated with fresh examples throughout and considering the newest technologies in editing and photography, this edition of Community Journalism provides the very latest of what every person working at a small newspaper needs to know.

About the Author

Jock Lauterer is lecturer in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and founding director of the Carolina Community Media Project at the university's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He was founding coeditor-publisher of two award-winning North Carolina community newspapers and is author of several books, including Runnin' on Rims and Wouldn't Take Nothin' for My Journey Now.

Reviews

"While overall newspaper circulation has continued to decline, community newspapers have remained strong. Most graduates of journalism programs will work for community newspapers. In my state, all but two of the approximately 150 newspapers are classified as community newspapers, defined by Lauterer as newspapers with fewer than 50,000 circulation. Most are much smaller. The prevalence of community newspapers is one reason my community journalism class is the required capstone class for our journalism majors."
--Elizabeth Hansen, Eastern Kentucky University

"A friend gave me Jock Lauterer's Community Journalism, Second Edition, when we first purchased our community newspaper. . . . It has been an invaluable resource since, proof positive by the dog-eared, turned-down corners, with heavily highlighted pages filled with pieces of paper as bookmarks. Not only did this book guide our first several years in the newspaper business, but it was also instrumental in the direction we have taken. . . . I look forward to CJ-3."
--Laurie Fagen, Editor/Publisher, The Southern Chandler/Ocotillo News, Arizona