• Conflicting Messages About the Right to Record

    Josh Stearns
    May 30, 2012

    This month, federal agencies and local officials sent two powerful but conflicting messages to the American public about our right to record.

    On May 14, the Justice Department submitted a letter to the Baltimore Police Department that provided in-depth guidance on citizens' right to record. The letter was submitted as part of a court case that dates back to 2010. The plaintiff, Christopher Sharp, alleges that after filming the arrest of his friend in Baltimore, police confiscated his mobile phone and deleted the video.

  • Deep Cuts at the New Orleans Times-Picayune Trigger Thoughts About Journalism's Future

    Josh Stearns
    May 24, 2012

    Since 2008, we have seen dramatic newsroom cuts at America’s major daily newspapers, and we’ve even seen some of our nation’s longest-running papers cease operations altogether.

    Today the New York Times is reporting more big cuts. David Carr writes that "The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which distinguished itself amid great adversity during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, is about to enact large staff cuts and may cut back its daily print publishing schedule, according to two employees with knowledge of the plans."

  • New Attack Launched on Public Media

    Josh Stearns
    May 10, 2012

    According to press reports, Sen. Jim DeMint and Rep. Doug Lamborn are circulating letters in the Senate and House to rally support for cutting all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its nearly 1,300 local stations. The letters argue that the $445 million CPB budget is an “enormous” cost to taxpayers.

    The letters come just a month before the CPB is supposed to deliver a report to Congress outlining how it could operate without federal funding. This timing is particularly troubling in light of a recent federal appeals court decision that opened the door to political ads on NPR and PBS stations.

  • From Competition to Collaboration

    Josh Stearns
    May 7, 2012

    The shift from competition to collaboration in the American newsroom has been so profound that in 2009 theColumbia Journalism Review argued that "there is something fundamental under way." That same year, Guardian Editor Alan Rusbridger wrote, "I've seen the future, and it's mutual." The trend is clear, and by all accounts collaborations are expanding and maturing, but do we have a clear enough understanding of what motivates these collaborative efforts? What are the factors inside and outside the newsroom that are inspiring this great collaborative shift?

  • We Must Protect Our Right to Record

    Josh Stearns
    May 3, 2012

    Today is World Press Freedom Day — but it sure doesn’t feel like it here in the U.S.

  • Collaboration, Competition and Consolidation: Where Is the Line?

    Josh Stearns
    April 10, 2012

    Many of the same technological changes and economic pressures that have driven the development of collaborative journalism are also driving media consolidation. In both cases, proponents argue that benefits include reducing overhead costs and pooling resources to provide quality journalism to the community.

  • Governments Around the World Grapple with Nonprofit Journalism

    Josh Stearns
    April 9, 2012

    In Free Press’ 2011 report on international models for public media, we noted how many of the changes we are witnessing in the American media landscape are also happening internationally. Public media systems around the world are debating how best to transition from broadcast to broadband, newspapers are cutting costs and struggling to adapt to the digital age and governments are grappling with ways to bridge the digital divide. All of these debates impact the future of journalism at home and abroad.

  • How to Navigate the IRS' Nonprofit Journalism Maze

    Josh Stearns
    April 2, 2012

    No matter what you think about tax cuts for the rich or corporations, everyone seems to agree that our tax code is too complex. Understanding the IRS’ concrete guidelines and navigating the nuances of past IRS rulings can be a daunting undertaking.

  • How Journalism Collaborations Are Changing the Way the News is Made

    Josh Stearns
    April 2, 2012

    When we say the word “collaboration,” are we all talking about the same thing? Or is that word, and the practices it encompasses, still being negotiated and hashed out in newsrooms and communities? The journalism partnerships emerging around the country vary in size and type, and the practices that define those partnerships are still being negotiated and hashed out in newsrooms and communities.

  • Civic Health and Public Journalism

    Josh Stearns
    March 26, 2012

    The annual Pew State of the News Media report is like a yearly physical exam for journalism in America. This year the prognosis is mixed, at best. Newspapers are still raking in double-digit operating margins, but after years of consolidation they are over-leveraged with debt that is cutting into their profits. There are more hours of news on local TV, but much of it consists of rebroadcasts, meaning there is actually less original reporting. Tablets and mobile devices are driving significant new traffic to news sites, but monetizing that traffic is still difficult.

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