journalism crisis
Journalism’s Hybrid System
Last week, Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled, “Journalism Needs Government Help.” As Bollinger argues, evidence is mounting that there simply is not enough private capital from traditional revenue sources such as advertising, subscriptions and philanthropy to pay for the quality journalism our communities need. Slowly but surely, people are conceding that there is a role for carefully crafted public policy that will foster a new age of innovative, diverse, local and hard-hitting reporting.
A (Neglected) Duty to Inform
With the widespread closure of international bureaus, and serious underfunding of those that remain open, American coverage of world affairs nears an all-time low. Today, the mainstream U.S. media often seems precariously close to preaching an official reality and severely restricting the average media consumer’s view of the world.
Jonathan Lethem’s most recent novel, Chronic City, parodies a New York City so exhausted by Iraq reports that the leading newspaper (a thinly-veiled New York Times) is compelled to produce a “War-free edition.” Although Iraq- and Afghanistan-fatigue is perhaps inevitable by this point, one could argue that democracy elevates staying informed to a civic responsibility.
Staying Optimistic as a Journalism Student
When I walked into my arts reporting class, statistics from the latest "State of the Media" report were written on the whiteboard like an epitaph on a tombstone.
“That’s depressing,” one classmate said in a defeated tone. My professor, Sasha Anawalt, director of the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program and former dance critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, turned around with a grin on her face. The statistics were, in fact, uplifting news. “Wanna know why?” Anawalt asked our confused class.
The Luxury of Investigative Reporting
Investigative journalist Jane Mayer is one of the lucky ones – she still has a job. As news outlets cut back, they’ve also cut down on investigative reporting. As part of The Nation’s video series on the future of journalism, Mayer, a reporter with The New Yorker, spoke last week about how investigative journalism has become a “luxury.”
Watch:
David Westphal on the Future of News at the FTC
David Westphal is the former Washington Editor for McClatchy Newspapers and joined USC Annenberg as executive in residence. He spoke today at the Federal Trade Commission’s future of journalism workshop. Below are his remarks. Westphal and his colleague Geoffrey Cowan also published an excellent article in the Online Journalism Review today.
Check back at SaveTheNews.org where we'll be posting more commentary and interviews with speakers at the FTC's journalism event.
Westphal:
Report from Denver Forum on the Future of News
The following is a guest blog post from Steve Outing, a Boulder-based media consultant and columnist focused on reinventing news. Steve volunteered as a facilitator at the SaveTheNews.org forum on the future of journalism in Denver on September 16.
Obama: ‘Happy to look at’ Journalism Policies
Self-professed “newspaper junkie” Barack Obama expressed willingness to look at policies and proposals that could help support quality journalism at a moment when traditional outlets -- especially newspapers -- are struggling.
Obama gave the nod to newspapers in an interview in the Oval Office on Friday with editors from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Blade of Toledo.
He said:
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Journalistic integrity, you know, fact-based reporting, serious investigative reporting, how to retain those ethics in all these different new media and how to make sure that it's paid for, is really a challenge. But it's something that I think is absolutely critical to the health of our democracy.
200 Journalists and Citizens Discuss the Future of News in Denver
The Colorado History Museum gift shop in Denver is already selling collector’s copies of the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News for $5 a piece.
But last night, more than 200 people showed up at the museum to prove that quality journalism is not yet a thing of the past. At an event organized by SaveTheNews.org and Denver’s IWantMyRocky.com, local citizens, journalists and nonprofit leaders came together to talk about the future.
Public Forum on Journalism in Denver
We could just sit back and bemoan the crisis facing journalism. Or we could do something about it. We’re choosing the latter.
On Wednesday, Free Press’ SaveTheNews.org campaign is hosting a free community forum in Denver, Colo., to bring together concerned citizens, journalists, policymakers and community leaders to discuss what policies we need — and what actions we can take — to support quality journalism.
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:
