Obama
Obama Envisions 'Golden Days' for Journalism
In the midst of this journalism crisis, which is not simply about newspapers dying but about quality reporting disappearing across platforms, there was a kernel of hope this week. Call it a moment of sanity. It came during President Obama’s remarks at the memorial service for the late CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.
Obama said, “Journalism is more than a career; it is a public good vital to our democracy.” Read the full transcript or watch the video:
Beyond Blue Ribbons
In general, there have been three kinds of responses to the calls for President Obama to endorse a commission to on the future of journalism and public media in America:
1. “Keep the government out of my journalism.”
2. “What good will a commission do?”
3. “Thank goodness, it’s about time!”
Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post exemplified the second and third responses in his article earlier this week, essentially arguing, “We don't need no stinkin' presidential commission.” My colleague Josh Silver has already outlined a few of the flaws in Kurtz’s article, but I want to step back and explore these responses to the commission idea in more depth.
