This Old House (of Representatives)

America has elected 44 different presidents, but more than 12,000 people have served in Congress.  Matthew Wasniewski (James Madison University alum) was recently appointed as the fourth official historian of the U.S. House of Representatives.  He says that while much has changed in the House since its first session (members no longer carry weapons on the floor, for example), most of today’s divisions and disagreements have parallels in history.  Also featured: Can Internet news gatherers who are not traditional, professional journalists help regenerate the movement called public or civic journalism that was first envisioned two decades ago by a loose-knit group of newspaper editors and academics?  Burton St. John III (Old Dominion University) answers with a qualified yes in the new book he co-edited “Public Journalism 2.0: The Promise and Reality of a Citizen-Engaged Press.”