Saving The News
College Media and the Future of Journalism

Josh Stearns
Program Manager at Free Press, working on issues related to the
future of journalism and media consolidation.
Ten years working with student organizations and service-
learning.
Former DJ at KSLU, St. Lawrence University radio and Editor of
the Laurentian literary magazine.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/jcstearns

Free Press
Reform Media, Transform Democracy
National nonpartisan nonprofit public
interest advocacy organization fighting
for better media online, on the airwaves,
and in print.
Research, public education, grassroots
organizing, lobbying & more.
500,000 members across the country,
almost 20,000 here in Texas.

Free Press
Reform Media, Transform Democracy
National nonpartisan nonprofit public
interest advocacy organization fighting
for better media online, on the airwaves,
and in print.
Research, public education, grassroots
organizing, lobbying & more.
500,000 members across the country,
almost 20,000 here in Texas.

Why Work on Media Policy?
Media is one of the most powerful social forces in our lives.
Like our families, religious institutions, work and schools, media
help shape our opinions and beliefs.
We are inundated with information – from news and advertising to
social media and TV shows.
Media impacts every other issue we care about.

When the Media System Works...
Supports democracy.
Uncovers the truth.
Holds our government and corporate leaders accountable.
Offers programs that entertain and enlighten.
It represents the diversity of our nation.

The Problem?
The Media Is Failing
Sensationalist news and celebrity gossip
Collapsing newsrooms in print and on TV
Slow and expensive Internet (or none at all)
Cookie cutter radio playlists
Under-funded public broadcasting
The list goes on and on...

What’s Policy Got To Do With It?
Policy decisions impact everything we see, read and hear
Our media system is not just a product of the free market
From the earliest days of this nation the media has been shaped by
policy decisions
Most of which have been made behind closed doors, with little or
no input from the public.

Show Me The Money
Media companies may say that our system is the result of
the free market but...
In 2008 the Communications and electronics industry
spent more than $139,500,000 in campaign
contributions (since 1990 they have spent almost
$800,000,000)
Source: Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org)

Show Me The Money
In 2008 the TV/Movie/Music industry alone spent
almost $50,000,000 in campaign contributions (since
1990 they have spent just over $259,000,000)
That doesn’t seem like a free market to me.
Source: Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org)

Another Way To Look At It
(This is just phone and cable companies)

Another Way To Look At It
(This is just phone and cable companies)

Who’s Looking Out For Your
Interests in Washington?

Who’s Looking Out For Your
Interests in Washington?

Saving The News
College Media and the Future of Journalism

Most conversations about the future of
news sounded a lot like this...

But journalism is not just
another business.
It’s a public good.

Is There a Role for Public
Policy in Supporting the
Future of Journalism?

That’s the wrong question.

Policy has always
shaped journalism.
for example....

1790 - First Copyright Law Passed 1970 -Newspaper Preservation Act,
allows for Joint Operating
1791 - First Amendment Ratified Agreements
1792 - Postal Act includes subsidies 1996 - Telecommunications Act
for newspaper distribution because essentially deregulates Radio
founders understood that an ownership
informed citizenry was key to our
democracy. 1998 - Digital Millennium
Copyright Act
1927 - Radio Act of 1927
2003 - FCC attempts to lift all media
1934 - Communications Act of 1934 ownership rules (3 million people
established the Federal protest and the rule change is halted
Communications Commission in the courts)
1966 - Freedom of Information Act 2007 - FCC attempts to lift
newspaper cross-ownership ban in
1967 - Public Broadcasting Act the ten biggest markets (Senate
establishes NPR and PBS strikes it down, still being debated in
courts)

and in 2009 alone...
FCC moves forward with Net Neutrality rules that would help protect freedom of
the press online.
The Local Community Radio Act moves forward, potentially creating thousands of
new Low Power FM radio stations.
Newspaper Revitalization Act introduced in House and Senate.
The Journalist Shield Law is debated (Senate bill now protects seems to protect
students, House bill does not.)
The US House, Senate, and Federal Trade Commission all hold hearings on the
future of journalism (FCC on Thursday announced new initiative investigating the
state of media and journalism.)
Three major reports are released advocating a role for pubic policy in supporting
the future of journalism. (Free Press, Knight Commission, Columbia University)

This conference is full of discussions about
law, policy and journalism...
Libel Laws Copyright
First Amendment Rights Public Service Requirements
on Public Airwaves
Freedom of Information Act
Webcasting Royalties
Broadcast Indecency
Regulations FERPA Regulations

Bad policy decisions
are part of the reason we have
a crisis in journalism.

Bad policy decisions
are part of the reason we have
a crisis in journalism.
Good policies must
be part of the solution.

But what about the First Amendment?

Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
image by flickr user KJD
speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.

We must not stand for any policy that
restricts speech or favor particular
speakers over others.
However, there is nothing wrong with
government policies that promote speech
of all kinds.

So we need some ground rules...
Any policy designed to support the future of journalism should:
Protect the First Amendment
Produce quality coverage
Provide adversarial perspectives
Promote public accountability
Prioritize innovation

What policies are being debated?

What policies are being debated?
New Ownership Models
Tweaking the tax code to allow news organizations to more
easily start-up or transition to a nonprofit or low-profit
organization. Reclassifying news organizations as
educational enterprises that ought to receive similar
benefits to colleges and universities.

What policies are being debated?
Journalism Jobs Program
A few ideas here: Creation of a program like AmeriCorps
or Teach for America for Journalist (“Write for America”).
Alternatively, the Dept. of Labor could fund training and
retraining for novice and veteran journalists in multimedia
investigative reporting.

What policies are being debated?
A New Fund for Journalism
A few models are being discussed: Creation of an R&D
fund for journalism innovation and experimentation.
Creation of an organization like the National Endowment
for the Humanities, but for journalism. Development of a
matching grant program to encourage greater
philanthropic and private support for journalism.

What policies are being debated?
New Public Media
Transforming public broadcasting into a world-class
noncommercial news operation using new technology and
focused on accountability journalism. Expanding funding
for community and public media and reorienting their
mission around local news.

Some possible policy changes
New Ownership Models
Journalism Jobs Program
A New Fund for Journalism
New Public Media

Where does college media fit in?
Many proposals
have put colleges
and universities at
the center of the
debate about the
future of
journalism.

As hubs of journalism
The Knight Commission on the Information
Needs of Communities recommends that we
work to “increase the role of higher education,
community and nonprofit institutions as hubs of
journalistic activity and other information-
sharing for local communities.”
“Institutions of higher learning should
likewise regard promoting community
information flow as central to their mission.”
http://report.knightcomm.org

As producers of journalism
Former Executive Editor of the Washington Post, Len Downie, and
Columbia Journalism Professor Michael Schudson released a report this
month that argued, “Universities, both public and private, should become
ongoing sources of local, state, specialized subject, and accountability
news reporting as part of their educational missions.”
“They should operate their own news organizations, host platforms for
other nonprofit news and investigative reporting organizations, provide
faculty positions for active individual journalists, and be laboratories for
digital innovation in the gathering and sharing of news and information.”
http://www.cjr.org/reconstruction/

As centers for experimentation
and innovation
Ernest Wilson, dean of the USC Annenberg School of Communications
and Journalism recent wrote: “Journalism schools bear some
responsibility for the industry's recent poor performance. Journalism and
communications schools should provide at least some of the solutions.”
“We need to become centers for experimentation and innovation, and
move from rather passive observers to passionate participants in a great
national debate. The leadership of journalism and communications
schools must step forward with a more coherent, sweeping vision of what
our profession can become, and mobilize the non-stop vitality that the
current crisis demands of us.”
http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=169115

So what can we do right now?

Educate
Pay attention to
what’s happening in
Washington, D.C.
and how it’s shaping
the news on your
campus and in your
town.
photo by flickr user humbertomoreno

Deliberate
Make your voice
heard on the issues
that matter to you.
Write your
lawmakers, inform
others, report on
your industry. photo by flickr user alex-s

Participate
Organize on your
campus and in your
local community.
Help connect
citizens, journalists
and policymakers.

“For me, the lesson of the closure
of the Rocky Mountain News is that
journalists cannot be objective
about our right to exist.”
Kim Humphreys, former Rocky copyeditor

We can help.
www.freepress.net & www.savethenews.org
Twitter: @freepress, @savethenews,
@jcstearns
Facebook: Search for SaveTheNews.org
Check out the Media Reform Daily and Media
Minutes.