{"id":20,"date":"2011-01-20T20:03:54","date_gmt":"2011-01-21T04:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journalismthatmatters.org\/fetzer1\/"},"modified":"2011-01-20T20:03:54","modified_gmt":"2011-01-21T04:03:54","slug":"meeting-report","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/journalismthatmatters.org\/fetzer1\/meeting-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #444444\"><strong>2010: Journalism That Matters For the 21st Century<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #444444\"><strong>Abstract\/Summary<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Three themes, framed by recognition of the<strong> Power of Storytelling<\/strong>, emerged for further work from the Media Probe conducted on April 28-30, 2005:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cultivate \u201chealthy journalists\u201d<\/strong>, renewing the inner life of the journalist;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prepare the next generation<\/strong>, with an eye towards the emerging citizen journalist; and<\/p>\n<p><strong>Invent a new economic model.<\/strong> As one participant put it, \u201cPerhaps journalism as we know it is a phase.\u00a0 Rather than further compromise the work, it\u2019s time to separate journalism from its current funding sources and find a new model.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the core idea uncovered by the probe:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Renew the inner life of the journalist to shift the questions asked.\u00a0 Shift the questions asked and change the stories told. <\/em><\/strong>And if journalists tell different stories, we, the people, are better served.<\/p>\n<p>Fetzer is uniquely positioned to contribute to a positive future for journalism because of its appreciation of the role of story in shaping culture and its existing expertise in working with the inner person.\u00a0 Throughout the session, participants, who are actively engaged in improving their field, told us these two subjects we were discussing weren\u2019t part of the current conversation. (Unlike the changes in technology which dominate the industry\u2019s attention.)<\/p>\n<p>By working with journalists, Fetzer has an exciting opportunity to experiment in supporting both individual and social formation.<\/p>\n<p>Two next steps emerged from the meeting:<\/p>\n<p>v\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Explore Integrating Fetzer\u2019s Individual Formation work<\/span> reshaped for journalists into existing mid-career journalism fellowship programs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nieman Fellowships for Journalists at Harvard University;<\/li>\n<li>University of Michigan Knight-Wallace Fellows program; and<\/li>\n<li>Stanford&#8217;s Professional Journalism Fellowships program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>v\u00a0 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Conduct a second, larger probe<\/span> that builds on the work recently completed.\u00a0 The challenges facing journalism are extraordinarily complex: decreasing audience, disappearing traditional revenue sources, and radically changing technology that is altering the media landscape by offering new sources for information and changing the information model from \u201clecture\u201d to \u201cconversation\u201d.\u00a0 While the themes are clear, bringing together a larger sampling will enable us to better understand how to shape plans for social formation.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Background and Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>On April 28-30, Fetzer hosted five journalism professionals with experience in television, print, and new media, including working journalists, educators, a business person, and a community activist. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Journalists are in a deep malaise.\u00a0 As an industry, newsroom culture has been characterized as defensive:<\/p>\n<p>The readership study found that newsrooms had a strikingly defensive culture, both passive and aggressive. It is a culture most closely compared to the military and hospital emergency rooms. The study&#8217;s authors noted that &#8220;in the past, defensive cultures fared well\u00a0\u2014 but today they are ill-equipped to respond to rapidly changing customer needs, surging competition, and revolutionary advances in technology.&#8221;<a href=\"#_ftn1\">[1]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Among the probe\u2019s participants, this feeling that \u201cthings are not okay\u201d expressed itself as a sense of urgency and willingness to step into the unknown.\u00a0 Within the first hour, people dove deep into their own stories, speaking of their passion for journalism and their commitment to finding a path to a meaningful future.<\/p>\n<p><em>How might this work impact people\u2019s vocational life?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Given that virtually every aspect of the system is changing, it is no surprise that the \u201cinner journalist\u201d needs support.\u00a0 Even among our open-minded probe participants, we expected some skepticism for Fetzer\u2019s mission of fostering awareness of the power of love and forgiveness.\u00a0 Instead, we found a belief that there would be a critical mass receptive to this notion.\u00a0 The insight that renewing the journalist as an individual could affect the nature of storytelling was a key finding.<\/p>\n<p>As journalists come to understand the power of love and forgiveness, they are ideally positioned to find bridging language to their audience. \u00a0For example, the idea for a column, program, or section on \u201cTools for Living\u201d was met with enthusiasm.\u00a0 The journalist as translator and educator is a feasible long-term outcome of a Journalist Formation project.<\/p>\n<p><em>Healing the fear that divides us<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Discussed throughout the meeting is the shift in journalism from a one-to-many orientation to a many-to-many orientation.\u00a0 The implication is that journalists must learn new skills for interacting with audience.\u00a0 They are no longer solely lecturers, telling their audience what they need to know.\u00a0 They have the potential to be conveners and facilitators, bringing together diverse perspectives to create new understandings.\u00a0 They can be the synthesizers, translators and bridges in a complex world, uncovering connections among the many facets of the whole rather than simplifying complexities to \u201ca vs. b\u201d.\u00a0 Specific strategies for mentoring a new generation of journalists versed in such skills remain to be discovered.<\/p>\n<p><em>How does this impact the dominant cultural story, provide different perspective?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Another theme from the weekend was the nature of questions.\u00a0 What would happen if the simple act of \u201casking questions from another angle\u201d broadly entered the consciousness of the reporter?\u00a0 Could it lead to stories that envision a more loving and forgiving world view?\u00a0 Today\u2019s remarkable technology shifts make every person a potential journalist.\u00a0 Wonderful ideas emerged to shape a new generation of citizen journalists.\u00a0 For example, create a \u201cshadow\u201d paper with stories of hope and possibility, created through the passion and commitment of ordinary people, supported by professional journalists mentoring them on the essentials of journalism.\u00a0 And to fund such a venture?\u00a0 How about reaching out to non-profits, community groups, or others who are traditionally invisible.\u00a0 As different stories are told, in different ways, perhaps the many voices of hope and possibility that already exist become more visible and the dominant culture story begins to shift.<\/p>\n<p>While an ambitious experiment in social formation, what field is better positioned to shape a new cultural story?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Goals and Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To engage the power of journalistic storytelling to shape a new cultural story by<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>renewing      the inner life of journalists through individual formation work; and<\/li>\n<li>uncovering      new directions for preparing the next generation of journalists and      developing a viable economic model through social formation work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Long Term Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shifts      in the nature of stories covered to include, among other changes, increasing      awareness of the power of love and forgiveness<\/li>\n<li>A new,      more interactive relationship between journalists and communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Journalist Formation Project<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Connect with the mid-career fellowship programs to offer formation work.<\/li>\n<li>Work with a mix of journalists and people familiar with Fetzer\u2019s formation work to shape an offering<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Probe II<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>We propose a gathering of emerging media leaders who are collectively shaping the stories that inform our society\u2019s thinking.\u00a0 The process addresses these questions :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How do      journalists grow capacity for handling the uncertainties of today\u2019s world      through\u00a0 the power of story to      shape culture?<\/li>\n<li>How      best to cultivate \u201chealthy journalists\u201d, deepening individual and      collective awareness of our capacity to make a meaningful difference,      rekindling the spark that brought many journalists to their vocation ?<\/li>\n<li>Is it      timely to seed a community of practice as a strategy towards sustaining      the work begun by the Advisory Group,\u00a0 uncovering potentials for small actions with large      impact (e.g., asking questions from another side)?<\/li>\n<li>How to      cultivate the next generation of journalists \u2013including the      citizen-as-journalist made possible by technology\u2019s evolution\u2014by preparing      them with the skills to reach out across what divides us?<\/li>\n<li>Can we      discover new economic models for journalism that tells an emerging      cultural story \u2013\u201cjournalism that matters\u201d?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Core Disciplines of the Process<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Appreciative      Inquiry (AI).\u00a0 Developed by      David Cooperrider and colleagues in 1987, AI\u2019s extensive research reveals      the gift of an appreciative inquiry \u2013 questions, interviews, storytelling      \u2013 to uncover strengths and possibilities as a basis for illuminating and      inspiring powerful individual and collective action.\u00a0 Given the critical role of inquiry      in media, AI is a particularly valuable form for engaging media      professionals.<\/li>\n<li>Open      Space Technology (OST).\u00a0      Created by Harrison Owen in 1985, OST invites people to take      responsibility for what they love.\u00a0      Because of its power to quickly engage diverse people in self-organizing      around what is important to them, it is extremely effective at uncovering      unexpected insights, new connections, often creating clarity and      commitment to action.\u00a0 With      media people, who as a culture are wary of manipulation, its expectation of      adult behavior is warmly welcomed.<\/li>\n<li>The      World Caf\u00e9.\u00a0 Shaped by Juanita      Brown and David Isaacs, TWC builds powerful relationships and community      around their burning questions so people notice their patterns.\u00a0 TWC enables voice in an intimate      setting in which people begin to experience themselves as a fractal of the      whole.\u00a0 For journalists, it is      a means of providing a space for sharing personal stories.<\/li>\n<li>Dialogue.\u00a0 Ancient in origins, brought into      modern practice by physicist David Bohm, Dialogue develops the capacity to      sense together.\u00a0 Often a      profound experience, in media, a field which frequently reduces issues to      \u201ca vs. b,\u201d dialogue provides a remarkable opening to the possibilities      inherent in connectedness, complexity and wholeness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Taken together, these disciplines are a powerful testament to what consistently occurs when people are invited to express what is being called from their deepest inner resources.\u00a0 In the process of being present to each other, people often experience a remarkable discovery: that what is most personal is also most universal.\u00a0 New ideas and connections frequently emerge; people begin caring for themselves, others, and the whole, inspiring coherent, committed action in service to meaningful purpose.\u00a0 In the context of media professionals, we believe we can create a nutrient container that seeds a community of practice committed to cultivating media that serves and sustains us all.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Essential Flow of the Process<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Work with our Advisory Group, including some who did not make it to the gathering, to prepare for the gathering:\n<ul>\n<li>To invite thought leaders, people on the \u201cfertile crescent\u201d of journalism, to a gathering of about 24 people, composed of emerging leaders who are influential and respected among their peers, reflecting the core disciplines of the field:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"361\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Business<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Reporter\/Blogger*<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Editor\/Producer*<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Print<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>TV<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>New Media<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Radio<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\">7<\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Citizen Media Activists<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Educators<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Wall Street<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Funders<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"60\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong> <\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"51\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"91\" valign=\"bottom\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"84\" valign=\"bottom\"><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"75\" valign=\"bottom\">24<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"354\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\" width=\"303\" valign=\"top\"><strong>Other Characteristics<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\"><strong>#people<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Race<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\">1\/3 minority<\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Gender<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\">40% female<\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Geography<\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\" width=\"235\" valign=\"top\">balanced across   east, west, midwest, south, southwest; some international<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Political   Perspective<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\">20% conservative<\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Independent Media<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\">15-20%<\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Age<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\">15-20% participants   under age 30<\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">Guild person   (union)<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"119\" valign=\"top\">International<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\" valign=\"top\"><\/td>\n<td width=\"50\" valign=\"top\">2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To shape appreciative interview questions based upon the themes identified in the initial probe so that new participants begin from that base<\/li>\n<li>To help cast Fetzer\u2019s mission in language that is compelling to journalists<\/li>\n<li>To counsel the facilitators on design decisions resonant with media culture<\/li>\n<li>Conduct appreciative interviews with invited participants<\/li>\n<li>Employ a variation on the process used for the initial probe, bringing participants together for an evening and three full days (Thursday evening through Sunday noon), creating a setting that reaches towards the \u201ctipping point\u201d of a new story of journalism\n<ul>\n<li>Open with an evening of personal storytelling using the World Caf\u00e9 to create an atmosphere of intimacy<\/li>\n<li>Conduct two days of exploration in Open Space to deepen and broaden the themes<\/li>\n<li>Synthesize the learning to focus on next steps on the last day of the conference<\/li>\n<li>Support an on-line environment that enables ongoing connection among participants and others invited into the process<\/li>\n<li>Engage an academic partner with graduate students who can trace the effect of this work over time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/><a href=\"#_ftnref\">[1]<\/a> NAA\/Northwestern University Readership Study, <a href=\"http:\/\/readership.org\/culture_management\/culture\/conversation.htm\">http:\/\/readership.org\/culture_management\/culture\/conversation.htm<\/a>, 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2010: Journalism That Matters For the 21st Century Abstract\/Summary Three themes, framed by recognition of the Power of Storytelling, emerged for further work from the Media Probe conducted on April 28-30, 2005: Cultivate \u201chealthy journalists\u201d, renewing the inner life of &hellip; 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