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  3. The End of the U.S. Model of Journalism ? (And What Comes Next)

The End of the U.S. Model of Journalism ? (And What Comes Next)

This conference, organized by the médialab and the DICEN, and presented by Christopher Anderson (Université de Milan), will explore the changes in the U.S. model of journalism. Zhao Alexandre Huang (Université Gustave Eiffel) will be the discussant of the presentation.

Event, Conference

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Salle B.010, 1 Place Saint-Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris

Abstract  

At least since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. model of journalism- an autonomous profession designed to scrutinize the powerful on behalf of the public- has occupied pride of place around the world. Even the disruption of that model by digital technology was itself folded into the larger narrative about what journalism was and why it mattered; technologically enabled creative destruction was occurring, but the result would be a better journalism than before, or at least a new journalism.

Drawing on a forthcoming history of digital news from 1989 - 2026 (Polity Press, 2027), this talk argues that the centrality of the US model has come to an end. The reasons for this, and possible normative replacements, will be the subject of this talk. 

Biographies 

Speaker: C.W. Anderson is Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Milan. He obtained his PhD from Columbia University in 2009 and previously worked at the City University of New York and the University of Leeds. He is the author of many books and academic articles on digital news, as well as contributing to the public conversation around these topics since the mid 2000s. In June 2026 he will be a visiting fellow at the l’Université Paris Nanterre.

Discutant: Zhao Alexandre Huang is an associate professor accredited to supervise research in Information and Communication Sciences at the DICEN laboratory of the Université Gustave Eiffel. His research focuses on public diplomacy and its digitalization, communication engagement strategies in international communication processes, as well as digital communication and the digital challenges faced by diplomatic institutions. He is the project lead for the Franco-Hong Kong bilateral project “PubDiplo” funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC).

Practical information

Date: June 25th 2025

Hour: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Location: room B.010, 1 Place Saint-Thomas d’Aquin, 75007 Paris.

Language: English

The conference is open to the public, with mandatory registration.