Today the Federal Communications Commission announced a new national initiative to examine the “future of media and the information needs of communities in a digital age.”

Word of this new project leaked last fall when the FCC hired Steve Waldman, the co-founder, president and editor-in-chief of Beliefnet.com, the largest multi-faith Web site for religion and inspiration. However, it was unclear at the time what shape the FCC-backed project would take.

Today, the FCC launched a new website and welcome video from Waldman himself (see below), as well as an eleven-page memo outlining questions this new initiative seeks to explore. The FCC is looking for feedback on a range of issues, including:

• Information Needs of Communities & Citizens;
• Business Models and Financial Trends;
• Commercial Broadcast TV and Radio, Cable and Satellite;
• Noncommercial and Public Media;
• Internet and Mobile; and,
• Newspapers and Magazines

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps hailed the new initiative, arguing that the FCC is precisely the right agency to undertake such an inquiry: “It’s our job to do this--the public interest requires no less.” He describes the initiative’s focus as, but not limited to, broadcast journalism. It will be “a comprehensive examination of the state of broadcast media today and, more generally, the availability to Americans of hard-hitting news and information of civic importance from broadcasters as well as other media sources, both traditional and new.”

Like the Federal Trade Commission, which launched a similar initiative last fall, the FCC is putting public input at the center of it’s process: Copps insisted that, “As the FCC convenes hearings, workshops and virtual debates, we need to ensure that the voices we hear are not just the media stakeholders, but more importantly the citizen stakeholders, who are the greatest beneficiaries of a functioning media and a functioning democracy.”

On their Web site, the FCC is currently asking the public to join in two overarching discussions on the state of media in their community and how to improve it.

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC, has promised more workshops on the future of journalism this spring, and pledged to work hand-in-hand with the FCC on their inquiry. With these two federal agencies investing so much time and energy into studying the future of journalism, there is growing momentum behind the idea that smart government policies are one part of a larger effort to improving our nation’s media system.

Video Introduction from Steve Waldman