Community journalism in the field: Health and hazards in the news

This article examines the current debate about community (or public, or civic) journalism which re-defines the role of journalists, their relationships with their communities, and promotes new ways of thinking about news. It examines the objectives of community journalism and compares them with traditional journalistic practice and with earlier calls for journalists to apply social science methods in examining and reporting on community public opinion. It describes a study in community journalism currently being completed by final year journalism students reporting on health and environmental hazards in rural communities.