Welcome to SaveTheNews.org

SaveTheNews.org, a project of Free Press, is leading the search for new public policies to save journalism and to promote a robust free press in America.

In response to the shifting media landscape, there have been a number of important nonprofit initiatives, think-tank convenings, panel discussions and foundation reports on the state of journalism, the impact of technology on newsgathering, and the search for viable new models for the news.

Yet despite all the ink spilled about journalism's decline, there is rarely any mention of how public policy contributed to this decline — or how new policies might help to reverse it.

SaveTheNews.org is a new, broad-based public campaign to develop policies that address the journalism crisis; to renew, reshape and re-imagine our nation’s newsrooms; and to involve the American people in the process.

The campaign is premised on the idea that journalism is a vital public good – not just another commodity. The challenge before us is to identify policy solutions to protect and foster that good and to preserve the journalism that sustains our democracy.

From the establishment of the U.S. Postal Service, which provided subsidies for mailing newspapers, to the founding of the Federal Communications Commission in 1934, to the passage of the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act and the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the media have been fundamentally shaped by public policy.

The policies we make over the next few years will determine whether we prop up failing models or invest in the newsgathering we need. They’ll make the difference between keeping reporters on the beat and giving more handouts to the largest conglomerates. Ultimately, these policies will determine whether the American people will continue to get the news and information they need to participate in our democracy.

To get legislative updates and action alerts, or to find out about SaveTheNews.org events, sign up here.

For more information on SaveTheNews.org, contact Josh Stearns at jstearns@freepress.net.