Journalism, freely practised, is indispensable to a democratic society: it is the main means by which societies know themselves; it provides the major forum for public debate; and it seeks to hold powers to account. Its centrality to public life is as much needed now as at any time, in order to give coherence to complexity, to discriminate between the significant and the transient, and to fashion stories which can be understood. But facing a context of increasing political pressure, technological change, market uncertainty and regulatory confusion, journalism stands at the crossroads. These issues are tackled in Media, Politics and the Public, an anthology of essays by distinguished media figures. With contributions from around the world, it provides evidence of the state of journalism today, examines its ability to hold powers to account, explores what its effect is on the politics within which it operates and points to ways it could deepen its engagement with citizens’ concerns. The texts stem from the 2010 international conferences organised by the Axess Programme on Journalism and Democracy, the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation. Contributors Guy Berger, Philip C. Bobbitt, Stephen Coleman, James Curran, Pippa Green, Agnès Gaudu, Ferdinando Giugliano, Ian Hargreaves, Mattias Hessérus, Yulia Latynina, John Lloyd, Paolo Mancini, Arkady Ostrovsky, Andrew Sparrow, Owen Spottiswoode, Paul Starr, Paul Steiger, Haiyan Wang, Janice Winter