Looking Back, Thinking Ahead: Reflections on our Five Years as Editors of the Journal of Public Deliberation (original) (raw)
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Future Directions for Public Deliberation
Journal of Public Deliberation, 2005
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Public Journalism and Deliberation
Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, 1996
Written when a movement for Public Journalism was influential in US newsrooms, this article justifies the movement in the terms of deliberative democracy
The notion of a “deliberative system” has become central to debates on deliberation. The plea to regard deliberative processes from a system-wide perspective is genuinely innovative and attractive, but little has been done to understand how deliberation in one arena or a separate institution relates to other arenas. This study investigates the role that experts play in public communication in two arenas that have distinct systemic functions. It compares how experts express and justify their opinions on a controversial public policy in legislative public hearings and when they are quoted in the news media. Our findings, based on an empirical case study, revealed that experts played a similar role in different contexts in micro- and macro arenas; and most debate participants appealed to technical knowledge to compel a particular decision. Our analysis concludes by reflecting upon the interconnectivities of the aforementioned arenas; and the systemic approach implications on empirical research.
Though deliberative theory has a bias toward rigorous argument and democratic social relations, it presumes that an ideal discursive process otherwise has a neutral stance with respect to particular ideologies and cultural values. This essay provides a preliminary test of that assumption by examining attitude change across a wide range of Deliberation Polls held across the globe. We analyzed 65 questionnaire statements on which Poll participants significantly changed their views on a wide variety of issues. By coding each of these survey items on various value dimensions, we were able to look for any obvious patterns of attitude change. Despite its small size and the exclusion of items showing no attitude change, this sample showed that Poll respondents tend to move toward more cosmopolitan, egalitarian, and collectivist value orientations. Further analysis showed the strongest value-laden shifts were on empirical statements, with public opinion on such questions shifting moderately toward cosmopolitan and collectivist beliefs. The conclusion considers the implications of these findings for deliberative theory, research, and practice.
Editor's Essay: Reflections Resolutions and Outlook for the New Year
Journal of Public Relations Research, 2024
As we step into the new year, our editorial team would like to extend our warmest greetings to the esteemed contributors/authors, editorial board members, reviewers, and readers of JPRR. As the editors of this esteemed journal, we are delighted to welcome you to another year of intellectual exploration and academic growth. The turning of the calendar marks a fresh opportunity to foster collaboration, stimulate critical thinking, and promote intellectual engagement. In the Chinese zodiac, 2024 corresponds to the Year of the Dragon, which is considered a highly auspicious and powerful year, symbolizing strength, leadership, and good fortune. May this new chapter bring forth exciting prospects, innovative research ideas, and enriching scholarly discussions. Together, let us strive to advance public relations research and practice, and push the boundaries of our collective knowledge. The state of the journal Volume 34 marked the beginning of our editorial term. In the inaugural issue of that 2022 volume, we proposed the following two goals: (1) Expand the breadth and depth of theoretical knowledge explored in JPRR, particularly through inter/multidisciplinary work as well as the inclusion of topics vital to the field that, for some reason or another, remain under-or unexplored. (2) Commit to transparent and prompt decision-making on manuscripts to strengthen the Journal's already stellar reputation, enhance trust among key constituents, and encourage scholars to pursue publishing opportunities at JPRR. On our reflections, we are proud to demonstrate positive progress toward those goals. First, we were delighted to close out 2023 with our first special issue (Volume 35, Issues 5-6) on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Dr. Dean Mundy of the University of Oregon and Dr. Nilanjana Bardhan of Southern Illinois University Carbondale co-edited our first special issue, which we believe greatly expands our existing body of knowledge in public relations theory, and subsequently JPRR's reach and relevance. The DEI special issue marks only the beginning of such efforts. Our team is currently working Dr. Ana Tkalac Verčič of the University of Zagreb, who will guest edit a forthcoming special issue on internal communication to be published later in this volume, for which we have received a substantial number of submissions from contributors around the world. Additionally, we have been consulting with our editorial board members on potential special issue topics and relevant guest editors, so be on the lookout for future calls. With regard to our second goal, we received 143 manuscripts in 2022, marking a 13% increase from 2021. That growth continued in 2023, as we received 160 submissions, a further 11.9% increase over the prior year. This figure represents the largest single-year number of submissions for our Journal over the past decade! We attribute much of this success to our professional and diligent reviewers. In 2023, the average reviewer turnaround time was 40.9 days for original manuscripts, and 35.4 days for revised manuscripts. Also, our editorial team strove to make prompt decisions for all manuscripts. In 2023, the average time from submission to first decision was 81.1 days, including all manuscripts submitted to our regular and special issues.
Deliberation's Legitimation Crisis: Reply to Gleason
Critical Review, 2011
Laurel Gleason contends that deliberative polling constrains the autonomy of participants and substitutes the ideas and agendas of ''experts'' for those of the deliberators. However, the format and informational constraints faced by participants in deliberative forums are no worse, and are in many ways better, than those faced by ordinary citizens. The real problem with deliberative polls is that if they were to become popular, it would be tempting for interest groups and partisan elites to create polls in which the constraints and briefing materials subtly tilted the participants in a desired direction. Public criticism of biased deliberative polls would, in turn, invite biased criticism of unbiased polls. In short, ''policing'' the quality of deliberative polls could recreate the very pathologies of real-world democratic discourse that the polls are designed to rectify. However, this problem is not insurmountable, because the participants themselves can police the proceedings by questioning the veracity and balance of the briefing materials.
Journal of Literacy Research, 1998
In many respects, the production of a scholarly journal such as JLR is the proverbial iceberg. Above the waterline is the clearly visible, final published product which typically arrives in the mail, is read wholly or in part, and then is archived for future reference. Below the waterline is a much less visible but remarkably extensive and intensive range of activities that support the visible product and that are an integral part of it. In fact, to extend the metaphor, this less visible activity in the production of a journal, particularly the review process (and particularly for new scholars), represents all the mystery and navigational hazards that icebergs do to inexperienced sailors traveling in uncharted waters.