This book stands on the shoulders of many scholars, practitioners, and public thinkers. It also benefited greatly from the support I have received from different people in my life and at my institution. While I cannot thank everyone who deserves it within these pages — that is another book altogether — I do want to highlight a few people who played a major role in bringing this book to life.
First, thank you, my former students. Over the years, you have challenged me in so many ways, both inside and outside of class. It has made me a better person and, I hope, a better teacher. You have helped me identify what matters in journalism, and why. And, you have energized me to persevere whenever this job starts to feel like a job. Thanks to you, it is much more than that. May you continue to challenge me for many years.
Second, thank you, University of Massachusetts Amherst, UMass Amherst Libraries, and my colleagues in the Journalism Department. UMass promotes a culture of teaching excellence and has provided me with several opportunities to develop as an instructor, including a Lilly Teaching Fellowship. UMass Amherst Libraries generously provided me with an Open Education Initiative grant that helped me design a publishing system that turned my course notes into this book. And, my departmental colleagues have embodied the meaning of teaching excellence since my very first day at UMass. They constantly push me to be creative and diligent in order to offer my students the very best experience.
Finally, I’d like to thank a number of experts outside of UMass who played a major and direct role in shaping the ideas featured in the pages of these book: Abeer Al-Najjar, Valerie Belair-Gagnon, Harry Browne, Matt Carlson, Paul D’Angelo, Arnold S. de Beer, Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Robert Entman, Elisabeth Fondren, Cherian George, Thomas Hanitzsch, Folker Hanusch, Tony Harcup, Yusuf Kalyango, Seth C. Lewis, Julia Lönnendonker, Donald Matheson, John H. McManus, Irene C. Meijer, Claudia Mellado, Logan Molyneux, Colleen Murrell, Paul C. Murschetz, Philip Napoli, Victor Pickard, Lawrence Pintak, Matthew Powers, Jyotika Ramaprasad, Stephen Reese, Sue Robinson, Tania Cantrell Rosas-Moreno, Jay Rosen, Frank M. Russell, Errol Salamon, Michael Schudson, Gabriele Siegert, Jane B. Singer, Nancy Snow, Nina Springer, Einar Thorsen, Nikki Usher, Wayne Wanta, Stephen J. Ward, Oscar Westlund, and H. Denis Wu. I am also immensely thankful to the editors of The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies, whose thoughtful approach to creating a comprehensive book about journalism helped me organize my own ideas. I hope you all find that this book faithfully honors your contributions to our understanding of journalism.