The Nation’s Video Series on the Future of Journalism
From news summits to sharing ideas with the Federal Trade Commission, there is a growing national dialogue between citizens, organizations and the government about what can be done to save journalism.
The folks over at The Nation are contributing to the conversation with a new "Future of Journalism" video series. Each week through the end of 2009, The Nation will post a video that showcases an expert suggesting ways that the media system might be fixed, and explaining what he or she believes to be the future of the industry.
The first video features John Nichols, contributor to The Nation, co-founder of Free Press and co-author of The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again. Nichols examines the disparity between an obsolete old media model and a not-yet-viable new media model: Neither will cultivate healthy journalism. He describes the role of media in America’s history, which was formed under heavy subsides to keep citizens informed, and suggests the future of journalism might mean returning to this historical model.
Watch the video:
In the second week of the series, Nick Penniman, executive director of the Huffington Post’s Investigative Fund, predicts a radically different media landscape ten years from now, when the national debate will feature a multitude of smaller independent voices rather than a few media behemoths. However, he fears this new landscape might also have negative aspects, such as more fluff reporting on unsubstantial topics and less quality, investigative stories.
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The most recent video features Ana Marie Cox, national correspondent for Air America. Cox talks about the drive to be a journalist and her experience covering the Obama campaign. As a result of her time with the campaign, she sees opposition research for political candidates as a possible solution to funding journalism in the coming years.
Watch the video:
The discussion about the future of journalism is rich and wide-ranging. Each expert has some vision as to what journalism will look like in the next decade or so. The end result might be a synthesis of the varied and often shared visions for journalism of many experts and concerned citizens, coming together in panels and summits across the nation to ensure that the future of the news is a healthy one.
Keep following The Nation’s “Future of Journalism” video series to see more media experts add their perspectives to this national dialogue.