We’ve got big ideas for what public media should look like in 2010 and beyond. And one of the greatest challenges ahead is to transform the existing model that revolves almost exclusively around public broadcasting stations into something broader and more inclusive that connects the many individuals and institutions across the country that are creating media in the public interest.
Community media – those locally owned radio stations, public access television channels, neighborhood nonprofit Web sites – are an essential resource. To better understand their strengths and needs in our ever changing media environment, Free Press is conducting an informal survey of community media makers. Given the troubling lack of localism and diversity in the mainstream media, community media makers become all the more important.
Last year practically burst at the seams with reports, conferences and other high-profile gatherings on the future of journalism. So what comes next? As one blog post summarized in December, “If 2009 was a year of study and debate about the future of journalism, 2010 must be a year of action.”
Those looking for a roadmap this year should turn to the latest analysis from Bob McChesney and John Nichols, whose new book, The Death and Life of American Journalism, kicks off the new decade with some sage advice: You want to save journalism? Take a history lesson, stop fear-mongering about government involvement in journalism, and get organized.
The first time I ever set foot inside a “public access” TV station was in 1997. I wanted to make a short documentary and found someone at Austin’s community television studio to help me.
It was such a novel concept to be able to borrow cameras, audio gear and editing equipment to tell a story.
After ten years, tens of thousands of petition signatures, and hundreds of phone calls -- the Local Community Radio Act was passed by the entire House of Representatives last night.
I’m still recovering from the spontaneous dance party that broke out a little after 7pm when we watched it go down on C-SPAN.
The second act of the Federal Trade Commission’s production of the latest off-Broadway hit, “Much Ado about the Future of Journalism,” came with a nice plot twist. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) kicked it off yesterday with a commendable soliloquy that pushed the market forces argument out of the spotlight by introducing suggestions for policy changes to promote a “vigorous” free press.
On Monday, a crowd of 150 leaders in journalism, philanthropy and business gathered in St. Paul, Minn., to address the crisis of declining local and regional journalism. The Future of News summit, hosted by American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio, tackled complex questions facing the worlds of commercial and public media alike.
Over the last year, we have seen a series of forward-thinking reports produced by academics, policymakers, technologists, journalists and advocates that lay out the challenges and opportunities in our media system. Free Press’ executive director, Josh Silver, spoke with Current.org’s Karen Everheart this week about how to move these proposals from concept and vision to action at the federal level.
Forty years ago today, a man named Gordon introduced us to Sesame Street. As NPR’s Robert Smith reported, the New York-based program was, like the city itself, very different then. The creators took their cues from the late-night sketch comedy show Laugh-In (not exactly the place you’d expect to look for educational programming), producing a variety show of sorts for children.
But what’s most striking about that first episode is not the state of the neighborhood, but the fact that this show – with its strange flow between segments, repetitive choruses and lengthy pieces about where milk comes from (complete with a droney-Nick Drake rip-off) – broke new ground by embracing media as a tool for teaching.
This post originally appeared on TruthOut.org. It was written by Amber Sands of the Prometheus Radio Project.
There's a classic problem for progressives who want to change the media: the media doesn't like to cover itself. Especially not when it comes to issues that challenge the status quo of corporate control. It's like turning to the military for news about the peace movement, or asking Big Oil to report on climate change legislation.
This week on Free Press' radio show Media Minutes, Len Downie and Michael Schudson discuss their new report, "The Reconstruction of American Journalism." They continue their conversation in a Media Minutes Extra segment. You can listen to the audio or read the transcript below: