In a political environment viewed as containing much uncivil discourse, and in which opinion journalism is often blamed, Mark Shields and David Brooks give their disparate political views on the PBS NewsHour with exemplary civility. This conversation analysis of the Shields/Brooks weekly discussions during 2012 reveals ways each frames his position while maintaining civility. The study distinguishes between watchdog journalism, opinion journalism, and incivility and reviews relevant research on mediated political discourse and civility. Using the Brooks and Shields exchanges as a model, it suggests conditions under which opinion and partisan journalism could make useful contributions.
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