assignment - paper 13 - new literature.

BHUMI DANGI

SEMESTER 4, M.A.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,

MK BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY.

ASSIGNMENT.

PAPER – 13 – NEW LITERATURE.

TOPIC - "India of 'light' and India of 'Darkness' in 'White Tiger' & 'Swamp' of 'city' & 'Villege' in 'Swamp Dwellers"

TO EVALUATE MY ASSIGNMENT,

…The Swamp Dwellers

The Swamp Dwellers focuses on the struggle between the old and the new ways of life in Africa. It also gives us a picture of the cohesion that existed between the individual and southern Nigerian society. The conflict between tradition and modernity is also reflected in the play. The play mirrors the socio-cultural pattern, the pang and the sufferings of the swamp dwellers and underlines the need for absorbing new ideas. The struggle between human beings and unfavourable forces of nature is also captured in the play. Soyinka presents us the picture of modernAfrica where the wind of change started blowing.

     The Swamp Dwellers is a close study of the pattern of life in the isolated hamlets of the African countryside as well as an existential study of the simple folk who face rigours of life without any hope or succour. Soyinka tears apart social injustice, hypocrisy and tyranny. The Swamp Dwellers expresses the necessity for a balance between the old and the new. Soyinka is not for excessive glorification of the past. In the play we see Soyinka’s crusade against authoritarianism, complacency and self delusion. Besides, in The Swamp Dwellers Soyinka satirises the betrayal of vocation for the attraction and power in one form or another.

     The Swamp Dwellers reflects the life of the people of southern Nigeria. Their vocation mainly is agro based. They weave baskets, till and cultivate land. They believe in serpent cult. They perform death rites. They offer grain, bull, goat to appease the serpent of the swamp. Traders from city come there for crocodile skins. They lure young women with money. Alu withstands their temptation. Young men go to the cities to make money, to drink bottled beer. In fact the city ruins them. The Swamp Dwellers consummate their wedding at the bed where the rivers meet. They consider the river bed itself as the perfect bridal bed. Sudden flood ruin the crops throwing life out of gear.

     The swamp dwellers are hospitable. They give cane brew in calabash cups. Fly sickness blinds them. Merry making and drumming both go together in their lives. Sheep and goats are fed on cassava. They believe in salutations through drumming. They believe in sooth saying. Any attempt to reclaim the land from the swamp is considered an irreligious act. Friends who meet after a whole season indulge in drinking bouts. When the stream is swollen people are ferried across by folk like Wazuri. The swamp dwellers believe in the infallibility of Kadiye, priest of the serpent of the swamp. Their belief is exploited by Kadiye to the hilt. Igwezu questions Kadiye and his ways. It tells us of the clash between tradition and modernity in southern Nigeria. Rain brings them hope. It brings the marvel of new birth to the land. Water plays the role of both the creator and destroyer in the life of the swamp dwellers. Crops are suddenly destroyed by the swarming locusts.

     The Swamp Dwellers makes use of contrast, parallelism, humour and irony in a suitable manner. Soyinka focuses the plight of the swamp dwellers in the play realistically. The swamp dwellers are at the mercy of furious nature unless they compromise tradition with modernity, embrace modern technology they wouldn’t have a bright future.

…THE WHITE TIGER

The White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the 40th Man Booker Prize in the same year.^[1] The novel provides a darkly humorous perspective of India’s class struggle in a globalized world as told through a retrospective narration from Balram Halwai, a village boy. In detailing Balram's journey first to Delhi, where he works as a chauffeur to a rich landlord, and then to Bangalore, the place to which he flees after killing his master and stealing his money, the novel examines issues of religion, caste, loyalty, corruption and poverty in India.^[2] Ultimately, Balram transcends his sweet-maker caste and becomes a successful entrepreneur, establishing his own taxi service. In a nation proudly shedding a history of poverty and underdevelopment, he represents, as he himself says, "tomorrow."

The novel has been well-received, making the New York Times bestseller list in addition to winning the Man Booker Prize.^[3] Aravind Adiga, 33 at the time, was the second youngest writer as well as the fourth debut writer to win the prize in 2008.^[4] Adiga says his novel "attempt[s] to catch the voice of the men you meet as you travel through India — the voice of the colossal underclass."^[5]According to Adiga, the exigence for The White Tiger was to capture the unspoken voice of people from "the Darkness" – the impoverished areas of rural India, and he "wanted to do so without sentimentality or portraying them as mirthless humorless weaklings as they are usually.

Balram Halwai narrates his life in a letter, written in seven consecutive nights and addressed to the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao. In his letter, Balram explains how he, the son of a rickshaw puller, escaped a life of servitude to become a successful businessman, describing himself as an entrepreneur.

Balram was born in the rural village of Laxmangarh, where he lived with his grandmother, parents, brother and extended family. He is a smart child but is forced to leave school in order to help pay for his cousin's dowry and begins to work in a teashop with his brother in Dhanbad. While working there he begins to learn about India's government and economy from the customers' conversations. Balram describes himself as a bad servant but a good listener and decides to become a driver.

After learning how to drive, Balram finds a job driving Ashok, the son of one of Laxmangarh's landlords. He takes over the job of the main driver, from a small car to a heavy-luxury described Honda City. He stops sending money back to his family and disrespects his grandmother during a trip back to his village. Balram moves to New Delhi with Ashok and his wife Pinky Madam. Throughout their time in Delhi, Balram is exposed to extensive corruption, especially in the government. In Delhi, the contrast between the poor and the wealthy is made even more evident by their proximity to one another.

One night Pinky Madam takes the wheel from Balram, while drunk, hits something in the road and drives away; we are left to assume that she has killed a child. Ashok's family puts pressure on Balram to confess that he had been driving alone. Ashok becomes increasingly involved in bribing government officials for the benefit of the family coal business. Balram then decides that killing Ashok will be the only way to escape India's Rooster Coop. After bludgeoning Ashok with a bottle and stealing a large bribe, Balram moves to Bangalore, where he bribes the police in order to help start his own taxi business. When one of his drivers kills a bike messenger, Balram pays off the family. Balram explains that his own family was almost certainly killed by Ashok's relatives as retribution for his murder. At the end of the novel, Balram rationalizes his actions and considers that his freedom is worth the lives of his family and of Ashok. And thus ends the letter to Jiabao, letting the reader think of the dark humour of the tale, as well as the idea of life as a trap introduced by the writer.

Balram Halwai narrates his life in a letter, written in seven consecutive nights and addressed to the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao. In his letter, Balram explains how he, the son of a rickshaw puller, escaped a life of servitude to become a successful businessman, describing himself as an entrepreneur.

Balram was born in the rural village of Laxmangarh, where he lived with his grandmother, parents, brother and extended family. He is a smart child but is forced to leave school in order to help pay for his cousin's dowry and begins to work in a teashop with his brother in Dhanbad. While working there he begins to learn about India's government and economy from the customers' conversations. Balram describes himself as a bad servant but a good listener and decides to become a driver.

After learning how to drive, Balram finds a job driving Ashok, the son of one of Laxmangarh's landlords. He takes over the job of the main driver, from a small car to a heavy-luxury described Honda City. He stops sending money back to his family and disrespects his grandmother during a trip back to his village. Balram moves to New Delhi with Ashok and his wife Pinky Madam. Throughout their time in Delhi, Balram is exposed to extensive corruption, especially in the government. In Delhi, the contrast between the poor and the wealthy is made even more evident by their proximity to one another.

One night Pinky Madam takes the wheel from Balram, while drunk, hits something in the road and drives away; we are left to assume that she has killed a child. Ashok's family puts pressure on Balram to confess that he had been driving alone. Ashok becomes increasingly involved in bribing government officials for the benefit of the family coal business. Balram then decides that killing Ashok will be the only way to escape India's Rooster Coop. After bludgeoning Ashok with a bottle and stealing a large bribe, Balram moves to Bangalore, where he bribes the police in order to help start his own taxi business. When one of his drivers kills a bike messenger, Balram pays off the family. Balram explains that his own family was almost certainly killed by Ashok's relatives as retribution for his murder. At the end of the novel, Balram rationalizes his actions and considers that his freedom is worth the lives of his family and of Ashok. And thus ends the letter to Jiabao, letting the reader think of the dark humour of the tale, as well as the idea of life as a trap introduced by the writer.

Themes[edit]

Globalization

The White Tiger takes place in a time in which increased technology has led to world globalization, and India is no exception. In the past decade, India has had one of the fastest booming economies. Specifically Americanization in India has played its role in the plot, since it provides an outlet for Balram to alter his caste. To satisfy Pinky’s want for American culture, Ashok, Pinky, and Balram simply move to Gurgaon instead of back to America. Globalization has assisted in the creation of an American atmosphere in India. Ashok justifies this move by explaining "Today it’s the modernest suburb of Delhi. American Express, Microsoft, all the big American companies have offices there. The main road is full of shopping malls—each mall has a cinema inside! So if Pinky Madam missed America, this was the best place to bring her".^[6] By blackmailing Ram Persad, the other driver, Balram is promoted and drives Ashok and Pinky to their new home.

Ashok is even convinced India is surpassing the USA, "There are so many more things I could do here than in New York now...The way things are changing in India now, this place is going to be like America in ten years".^[7] Balram is noticing the rapid growth as well. From the beginning of his story he knows that in order to rise above his caste he should become an entrepreneur. Although his taxi service is not an international business, Balram plans to keep up with the pace of globalization and change his trade when need be. "I‘m always a man who sees ‘tomorrow’ when others see ‘today.’"^[8] Balram's recognition of the increasing competition resulting from globalization contributes to his corruption.

TO EVALUATE MY ASSIGNMENT,

'Kanthapura' (non-violence) & 'Grain of Wheat' (Violence) Freedom fighting movements

BHUMI DANGI
M.A. SEMESTER-4
PAPER-14
AFRICAN LITERATURE

TO EVALUATE MY ASSIGNMENT,

·      Introduction of writers

·     Ngũgĩ Wa Thiongo

Ngũgĩ WA Thiongo was born in Kenya in 1938 into a large poor family. He is currently a distinguished Professor of English and Literature at the University of California, Irvine. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children’s’ literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. In recent, Ngũgĩ has frequently been regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

A Grain of Wheat is a novel by Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ WA Thiongo first published in 1967 as a part of the Heinemann African Writers Series. It is a great introduction to African literature. It portrays the politics about struggle for independence and liberation in Kenya and revolt against the British imperialism. The plot revolves around his home villages preparations for Kenya’s Independence Day celebration called Uhuru day. The story clearly illustrates the struggle before and after independence in Kenya. The present time of the story takes place before Kenya’s independence from the British Empire in December 1963. The past time takes place during the emergency in the 1950s during the Mau Mau rebellion against the European settlers.

·    Raja Rao

Raja Rao was born in 1908 in Hassan, Karnataka. Rao studied English at Nizam College, Hyderabad, and then at the University of Madras. He left India for France to study literature and history at the University of Montpellier and the Sorbonne. He lost his mother at the age of 4; this could be the reason for the absence of mother and orphan hood being repeating in his work. From his grandfather, Rao attained a spiritual foundation in Indian philosophy that is also apparent in all of his work. 

 In 1988 he received the prestigious International Neustadt Prize for Literature. Earlier in 1964, Rao won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award which is India's highest literary honor for The Serpent and the Rope. Rao received several honors viz. the Padma Bhushan, in 1969; a fellowship in the Sahitya Akademi, India’s national academy of letters, in 1997; and was awarded PadmaVibhushan posthumously in 2007. Rao died on 8 July 2006 at Austin, Texas, at the age of 97.

Kanthapura, the first major Indian novel in English was written in the colonial India in 1930. It was the time during the Civil Disobedience Movement of the 1930.It is a fictional account of a quaint little village in the southern part of India and how the village rises against the British when the cries of the people during the Indian freedom struggle reach its doorstep. The writing is very lyrical and poetic. Raja Rao in his Kanthapura, created a form of modernism – ironic, skeptical and innovative technique such as puranic texture and recurrent use of Hindu myths and legends which is Indian in subject – matter local language usage, local history, racial or national pride, political independence and demands for social justice are among the characteristics of the novel, as are concern with national mythology, with documenting local ways, usually in a realistic literary style.

Comparison:

Moorthy is the main character of Kanthapura, a young Brahmin man who leaves the village of Kanthapura to study in the city and comes back a firm believer in the ways of Mahatma Gandhi.

Well-regarded in the city, Moorthy’s influence allows him to gain many followers as he preaches a way of life that ignores caste and class and rejects Britain’s colonialist rule over India. He is a firm believer in nonviolence and practices what he preaches when it comes to treating all castes as equal—even embracing the Pariah class.

Mugo, the book’s central character, connects in some way to almost every other character. He betrays Kihika, is violently beaten by John Thompson, hears the confessions of Gikonyo and Mumbi, intervenes in the savage beating of Kihika’s girlfriend, and forms a strange, spiritual connection with the old woman whose “deaf and dumb” son was killed during the Emergency. 

·     These are post colonial novels and both have been written on the theme of national freedom struggle. The manner in which Indian National Movement is translated as spiritual struggle for liberation is compared with the way Ngugi uses a Christian metaphor of death and resurrection of Christ as a metaphor for the Mau Mau Freedom Movement in Kenya. Both novels shows the atrocities inflicted upon the natives who are tortured and suffer all kinds of privations. The torture on them further strengthen and the people’s resolve to fight for freedom.

·     “In both novels the characters are infused with the same spirits of religiosity and spiritualism. The role of mythology in both the novels is similar.”

... SO WHAT?

Africa also got independence and India got independence as well. Africans used violence and India took an oath of non-violence largely. What was more important- Violence, non-violence or independence? Well it is independence that matters. And many a time we try to privilege non-violence over violence. But is it so? Does India have independence just of non-violence and higher philosophy that we use to talk about? No. Partially it might be true also but by n large it is not the fact.

It is the world war who played vital role in shaping independence.

And still, it is not the end of discussion. Are we capable enough for independence or not. Today we have democracy in India. But we all are aware of consequences of democracy. Here, voting gets selling. And we do not follow right path of democracy.

What is most important in democracy is –

1.Healthy state of mind

2.Economic settlement

3.Education

Without these three things, we will not be considered ELIGIBLE for democracy. Why is this important? Because if it is not there than our own people will start ruling over us. One observation says that now White people with coat have stopped ruling but coat has got brown skin people. Corruption, fake politicians are the result what we have got for independence.

One thing was discussed that whether “SU-RAAJ” is more important or “SWA-RAAJ” is more important. Ant that that conflict is this – “GOOD GOVERNANCE” OR “SELF-GOVERNANCE”.

It was not that that somebody has ruled over other place for the first time. If we see the history, we may come to know that it have remained the tradition of the world since very long. We claim India as “OUR OWN MOTHERLAND”. But as we know we are the generation of “ARYANS”. Aryans do not belong to India; its origin is not there in India. They have come from Asiatic part. They made “DRAVIDIANS” (the actual natives) to go and live in southern part of India. And we lived here for thousands of year. So these have been the tradition.

And British Governance have provided us many things like English education system, technology; they helped pulling us out from our dark ages. So it was not that staunch.

…Concluding

Still, we are in better condition than Africa. But still some of the part in Africa faces much more problem. There are several parts in Africa which have developed but comparatively India’s condition stands much ahead than them. 

TO EVALUATE MY ASSIGNMENT,

What is Literature

This simple looking term coins much more difficulty when we have to answer it. Some of the things are like, too difficult to explain. For example quantum theory, And unlike that, some are too handy or familiar. So we usually do not take it into account. For example, Taste of Water. It is a part and parcel o out life. We require it the most throughout the day. So if somebody asks water. What it tastes like? So, for a moment we all will think. How to describe taste of water?

“What is Literature?” is that type of question. With the stories told by my father, literature has entered my life when I was too young to think about literature like this. So it is something like routine, day-to-day happening thing. Just like we go for water! It is like, inside there is clear cut image for “What is Literature”. But it is so simple that it becomes difficult to shape the image with words.

-        “Mirror of Society?”

-        “Hammer of society?”

-        “Ex of society?”

-        “Honeycomb?”

-        “Cobweb”?

Literature is being discussed since long. Its history may lead us to the very roots of human civilization. So it is much older and accepted notion of society. So it is obvious that we have series of metaphors, definitions for what literature is.

But problem with many of the definitions will remain. As Derrida says, No Definition can describe the term at its fullest. Many definitions will contradict each other and it will not be covering all the aspects of literature. 

“THE ART OF STORYTELLING”

To me, it seems more nearer to the term than any other definition. Ultimately it’s all on which literature functions. It is all about how well you can express the story. More expressive, truthful the narration is more the literature is going to survive.

Literature we can divide into two major components and that is

PROSE N VERSE

And more specifically it is divided into three genres and that is

1.  Poem 2. Drama 3. Novel.

And those three genres have got their sub-genre.

Poem: Epic, Sonnet, haiku etc.

Novel: Novella, Short Story etc.

So, is it all about Literature? Still I feel that something is missing.

Nowadays we have changes media or medium of telling the story. We have shifted with TECHNOLOGY in STORY TELLING also. As so many institutes have started considering “MOVIE” as literature. Forms get changed with span of time but essence remains the same. Effect changes with medium but the print of expression will be the same. It is like old wine in new bottle. We may feel catharsis and other dramatic heightened outlet with films also.

Book also gets replaced with other devices like “VOOK”. Vook is combination of V-ideo and b-OOK. Some parts will come into video session and rest will be written. This is totally different kind of experience. It will open up the doors for totally new imagination.

Now we have some softwares in computer which generates poetry as well. So how all the things still will remain equivalent?

So Again, I would like to say, it have changed. And I think totally new definition needs to come out which includes technological literature also.

Derrida says each and every event is text. It is not limited with books, pages and all about old stereotypes of Literature. In Simple words I would say that whatever pleases you, is literature. 

Ultimately what i still believe, matches with the idea what I used to think 2 years back. When we entered department, we were asked to write down what do we think , "what is literature.". My view still matches with that. that ultimately its all about pleasure. But what change have taken place is that, it is having more dimensions. 

All Presentations - M.A. Semester - 4.

Bhumi Dangi
M.A. Sem. 4.
Presentation
Paper - 13 - New Literature.
Topic - Creation of worlds 'narnia' & 'hogwarts' with special reference to 'utopian world'
Submitted To - Department Of English, MK Bhavnagar University.

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Bhumi Dangi
M.A. Sem. 4.
Presentation
Paper - 14 - African Literature.
Topic - Culture shown in 'things fall apart'
Submitted To - Department Of English, MK Bhavnagar University.

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Bhumi Dangi
M.A. Sem. 4.
Presentation
Paper - 15 - Mass Communication & Media Studies.
Topic - Language used in advertisement.
Submitted To - Department Of English, MK Bhavnagar University.

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Bhumi dangi.

Department of English, m k bhavnagar university.

m.a. semester-4

paper 15: Mass communication and media studies.

Assignment

“Journalism”

"Exploring 'Journalism' with added dimension"

To evaluate my assignment, click here.

Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word applies to the occupation (professional or not), the methods of gathering information, and the organizing literary styles. Journalistic media include: print, television, radio, internet, and, in the past, newsreels.

Concepts of the appropriate role for journalism varies between countries. In some nations, the news media is controlled by a government intervention, and is not a fully independent body In others, the news media is independent from the government but the profit motive is in tension with constitutional protections of freedom of press. Access to freely available information gathered by independent and competing journalistic enterprises with transparent editorial standards can enable citizens to effectively participate in the political process. In the United States, journalism is protected by the freedom of the press clause in the First Amendment.

The role and status of journalism, along with that of the mass media, has undergone changes over the last two decades with the advent of digital technology and publication of news on the Internet. This has created a shift in the consumption of print media channels, as people increasingly consume news through e-readers, smartphones, and other electronic devices, challenging news organizations to fully monetize their digital wing, as well as improvise on the context in which they publish news in print. Notably, in the American media landscape, newsrooms have reduced their staff and coverage as traditional media channels, such as television, grapple with declining audiences. For instance, between 2007 and 2012, CNN edited its story packages into nearly half of their original time length

This compactness in coverage has been linked to broad audience attrition, as a large majority of respondents in recent studies show changing preferences in news consumption. The digital era has also ushered in a new kind of journalism in which ordinary citizens play a greater role in the process of news making, with the rise of citizen journalism being possible through the Internet. Using video camera equipped smartphones, active citizens are now enabled to record footage of news events and upload them onto channels like youtube, which is often discovered and used by mainstream news media outlets. Meanwhile, easy access to news from a variety of online sources, like blogs and other social media, has resulted in readers being able to pick from a wider choice of official and unofficial sources, instead of only from traditional media organizations. Journalism is nonfiction.

Production

Journalistic conventions vary by country. In the United States, journalism is produced by media organizations or by individuals. Bloggers are often, but not always, journalists. The Federal Trade Commission requires that bloggers who receive free promotional gifts, then write about products, must disclose that they received the products for free. This is to eliminate conflicts of interest and protect consumers

Fake News is news that is not truthful or is produced by unreliable media organizations. Fake news is easily spread on social media. Readers can determine fake news by evaluating whether the news has been published by a credible news organization. In the US, a credible news organization is an incorporated entity; has an editorial board; and has a clear division between editorial and advertising departments. Credible news organizations, or their employees, belong to one or more professional organizations such as the American Society of News Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters & Editors, or the Online News Association. All of these organizations have codes of ethics that members abide by. Many news organizations have their own codes of ethics that guide journalists' professional publications. The New York Times code of standards and ethics is considered particularly rigorous.

When they write stories, journalists are concerned with issues of objectivity and bias. Some types of stories are intended to represent the author's own opinion; other types of stories are intended to be more neutral or balanced. In a physical newspaper, information is organized into sections and it is easy to see which stories are supposed to be opinion and which are supposed to be neutral. Online, many of these distinctions break down. Readers should pay careful attention to headings and other design elements to ensure that they understand the journalist's intent. Opinion pieces generally are written by regular columnists or appear in a section titled "Op-ed." Feature stories, breaking news, and hard stories stories are generally not opinion pieces.

Many debates center on whether journalists are "supposed" to be "objective" or "neutral." The idea of "journalistic objectivity" is considered out of date. Journalists are people who produce news out of and as part of a particular social context. They are guided by professional codes of ethics and do their best to represent all legitimate points of view.

Forms

There are several different forms of journalism, all with diverse audiences. Journalism is said to serve the role of a "fourth estate", acting as a watchdog on the workings of the government. A single publication (such as a newspaper) contains many forms of journalism, each of which may be presented in different formats. Each section of a newspaper, magazine, or website may cater to different audiences

Some forms include:

·         Advocacy Journalism– writing to advocate particular viewpoints or influence the opinions of the audience.

·         Broadcast Journalism – written or spoken journalism for radio or television.

·         Citizen journalism - participatory journalism.

·         Data journalism -- the practice of finding stories in numbers, and using numbers to tell stories. Data journalists may use data to support their reporting. They may also report about uses and misuses of data. The US news organization ProPublica is known as a pioneer of data journalism.

·         Drone journalism – use of drones to capture journalistic footage

·         Gonzo journalism – first championed by Hunter S. Thompson, gonzo journalism is a "highly personal style of reporting".^[10]

·         Interactive journalism: a type of online journalism that is presented on the web

·         Investigative journalism: in-depth reporting that uncovers social problems. Often leads to major social problems being resolved.

·         Photojournalism: the practice of telling true stories through images

·         Sensor journalism: the use of sensors to support journalistic inquiry.

·         Tabloid journalism – writing that is light-hearted and entertaining. Considered less legitimate than mainstream journalism.

·         Yellow journalism (or sensationalism) – writing which emphasizes exaggerated claims or rumours.

The recent rise of social media has resulted in arguments to reconsider journalism as a process rather than attributing it to particular news products. From this perspective, journalism is participatory, a process distributed among multiple authors and involving journalists as well as the socially mediating public

History

Johann Carolus's Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, published in 1605 in Strassburg, is often recognized as the first newspaper. The first successful English daily, the Daily Courant, was published from 1702 to 1735. The reform of the Diário Carioca newspaper in the 1950s is usually referred to as the birth of modern journalism in Brazil.

Role

In the 1920s, as modern journalism was just taking form,^[14] writer Walter Lippmann and American philosopher John Dewey debated over the role of journalism in a democracy. Their differing philosophies still characterize a debate about the role of journalism in society and the nation-state.

To Lippmann, the journalist fulfilled the role of mediator, or translator, between the general public and policy-making elites. Lippmann reasoned that the public could not assess modern society's growingly complex flurry of facts; therefore, it needed an intermediary to filter its news. Journalists served as this intermediary, recording the information exchanged among elites, distilling it, and passing it on for public consumption. The public would affect the decisions of the elite with its vote; in the meantime, the elite would keep the business of power running. Effectively, Lippmann's philosophy had the public at the bottom of the power chain, inheriting its information from the elite.

Lippmann's elitism had consequences that he came to deplore. An apostle of historicism and scientism, Lippmann did not merely hold that democratic government was a problematic exercise, but regarded all political communities, of whatever stripe, as needing guidance from a transcendent partisanship for accurate information and dispassionate judgment. In "Liberty and the News" (1919) and "Public Opinion" (1921) Lippmann expressed the hope that liberty could be redefined to take account of the scientific and historical perspective and that public opinion could be managed by a system of intelligence in and out of government. Thus the liberty of the journalist was to be dedicated to gathering verifiable facts while commentators like himself would place the news in the broader perspective. Lippmann deplored the influence of powerful newspaper publishers and preferred the judgments of the "patient and fearless men of science". In so doing, he denigrated not only the opinion of the majority but also the opinion of those who had influence or power as well. In a republican form of government, the representatives are chosen by the people and share with them adherence to the fundamental principles and political institutions of the polity. Lippmann's quarrel was with those very principles and institutions, for they are the product of the pre-scientific and pre-historical viewpoint and what for him was a groundless natural-rights political philosophy.

But Lippmann turned against what he called the "collectivism" of the Progressive movement he encouraged with its de-emphasis on the foundations of American politics and government and ultimately wrote a work, "The Public Philosophy" (1955), which came very close to a return to the principles of the American founders.

Dewey, on the other hand, believed not only that the public was capable of understanding the issues created or responded to by the elite, but also that it was in the public forum that decisions should be made after discussion and debate. When issues were thoroughly vetted, then the best ideas would bubble to the surface. Dewey believed journalists should do more than simply pass on information. He believed they should weigh the consequences of the policies being enacted. Over time, his idea has been implemented in various degrees, and is more commonly known as "community journalism".

This concept of community journalism is at the centre of new developments in journalism. In this new paradigm, journalists are able to engage citizens and the experts and elites in the proposition and generation of content. While there is an assumption of equality, Dewey still celebrated expertise. Dewey believed the shared knowledge of many to be far superior to a single individual's knowledge. Experts and scholars are welcome in Dewey's framework, but there is not the hierarchical structure present in Lippmann's understanding of journalism and society. According to Dewey, conversation, debate, and dialogue lie at the heart of a democracy.

While Lippmann's journalistic philosophy might be more acceptable to government leaders, Dewey's approach is a more encompassing description of how many journalists see their role in society, and, in turn, how much^[ of society expects journalists to function. Americans, for example, may criticize some of the excesses committed by journalists, but they tend to expect journalists to serve as watchdogs on government, businesses and actors, enabling people to make informed decisions on the issues of the time.

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