Custodians of Conscience: Investigative Journalism and Public Virtue

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Custodians of Conscience: Investigative Journalism and Public Virtue. James S. Ettema and Theodore L. Glasser. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1998. 233 pp. $49.50 hbk. $17.50 pbk.

The book is founded upon a provocative paradox. American journalism prides itself on striving for objective, disinterested reporting. Yet the best and most lauded journalism investigative reporting - often seems to be based upon outrage, indignation, advocacy, and calls for justice.

That paradox lies at the heart of Custodians of Conscience. The authors, James S. Ettema, professor in Communication Studies at Northwestern University, and Theodore L. Glasser, associate professor in …