Getting consensus on just what the crisis is and how to fix it, however, can be a bit trickier. Is it simply a part of a larger trend toward social fragmentation and isolation Robert Putman (2000) believes extends even to the decline in league bowling in the United States? Can it be seen in circulation and viewership declines in both newspapers and television? How about recent professional lapses that have stunned both print and broadcast journalism? Is the survival of Mickey Mouse more important to Disney than anchor Peter Jennings? Are Internet bloggers “citizen journalists” or simply self appointed crazies who spread misinformation in real time to all corners of the global?

Regardless of how you articulate the problem, I cannot think of another historical moment when it was more important for journalism and the academy to enter into a direct and candid dialogue. The challenge facing the newly formed Journalism Studies Interest Group ought to be no less then helping to enable that discussion.l.