People Are Passionate About Good Journalism

Recently, I had the pleasure of traveling with John Nichols and Bob McChesney on their book tour to promote the Death and Life of American Journalism.

I’ve been working to change the U.S. media system for three years now, and I spend a good deal of that time behind my desk. Having the opportunity to step out into communities that have been affected by our crumbling media system was fascinating – and reinforced what I hear through e-mails and phone calls: People across this country want quality journalism that is compelling, relevant, informative, combative and diverse.

Whether we were at book stores, in classrooms on college campuses, or at large town halls, the events were always filled to capacity, packed with fellow citizens wanting to know how to “save journalism.”

Despite the frequently spouted myth that Americans do not care about quality journalism -- that we’re more interested in Tiger Woods’ infidelities than in the intricacies of Iran’s theocracy -- what I found was a country thirsty for quality journalism.

People were desperate to transform their communities’ newspapers and local television stations into vibrant centers of cultural and civic life.

At Portland State University, attendance for the presentation was so high, we had to bag the small classroom for a large presentation hall, where people were crowded outside trying to find a few inches to get in and listen. One woman with a small child on her hip stuck with me. She told me she had re-enrolled in college to learn how to create sustainable alternative media. Having already earned a degree in history, she wanted to combine her skills to produce a local newspaper that would cover local government.

“For my kids, there are so many issues here with water and schools that aren’t being covered [in the media],” she told me. “I want people to know these things are happening.”

Far from accepting the direction in which corporate consolidation has taken journalism, the people I met wanted to know how they could rescue the media from their decline into celebrity worship and sensationalism.

Similarly, the universities we visited filled their large lecture halls and several classrooms with students who wanted to know why the news media they see are so terrible. Young Americans, like everyone else I met, wanted to find out how to create newspapers and magazines that are financially sustainable, creative and informative.

In conversations with many young people, I found that their rejection of our current media model isn’t a dislike for newspapers per se, as too many publishers and politicians believe; it’s a rejection of the content. People are overwhelmingly fed up with having a few editorial gatekeepers who decide what news is relevant and what stories get reported.

Like so many other Americans, they’ve turned to the Internet in an attempt to find alternative news sources and viewpoints and the many stories left out of the corporate news media. And where newspapers are still vibrant and competitive, people are still voraciously reading them.

But people know that the Internet and a few still competitive news markets are not the answer to our media crisis. In the stark absence of real local news, people are asking, “How will we inform ourselves?”

It’s easy to philosophize from a distance that the public isn’t interested in quality news and investigative journalism anymore – but take to the streets and you’ll find the real story behind the story: People showed up to listen to Nichols and McChesney because they want to begin a national conversation about revitalizing our media system.

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Free Press does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media and universal access to communications.