Submitted by PeggyHolman on Wed, 03\/11\/2009 – 2:46pmin<\/p>\n
Session Convenor<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0Bill Densmore<\/p>\n Session Reporter<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0Hannah Miller<\/p>\n Discussion Participants<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0A large group<\/p>\n Question: What is the value of journalism? What does it offer to our communities that isn\u2019t already there?<\/em><\/p>\n It has to do with trust.\u00a0 People need to see the value added.<\/p>\n Telling stories of people.<\/p>\n News as currently done \u2013 there\u2019s something wrong. I think we have a content crisis.<\/p>\n Creates new story for the possibility of the community.<\/p>\n Journalism \u2013 used to be only gatekeepers \u2013 now afraid of losing control.<\/p>\n Provides the police blotter.<\/p>\n If it went away, would we miss it?<\/p>\n Provides identity\/local news. The term \u201cinformation sharing\u201d is demeaning.<\/p>\n If your local park is crappy, you need a newspaper to fix it.<\/p>\n USA today is news from nowhere. The community it refers to is too vast. It\u2019s not a community.<\/p>\n Journalism provides a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n Tells you what\u2019s going on in SF, and what\u2019s going on nationally. Tied up in concept of the citizen.<\/p>\n The newspaper tells you who you are. Cultural cohesion that ties us together. That\u2019s more important than the news.<\/p>\n Corporate consolidation killed grassroots voice.<\/p>\n Corporate consolidation killed radio. Used to be a profound political force. Maybe digital shakeup will get us back to community news.<\/p>\n There are very few national newspapers in this country \u2013 we have many of them in the Dominican Republic. TV does that here.<\/p>\n What if the government had a paper? Profoundly disturbing.<\/p>\n Reading the newspaper is a ritual. Read in the morning with coffee.<\/p>\n We were taught to read it. My teachers used it in class. We still have high school papers. There will also be a class of people who want to document history. I don\u2019t know if people want to read it, but they still want to produce it.<\/p>\n Horoscope\/advice column\/crossword\/comics. It\u2019s been an essential experience for a long time.<\/p>\n Movie listings.<\/p>\n Question: What would SF lose if the Chronicle died?<\/em><\/p>\n Sports.<\/p>\n A sense of identity.<\/p>\n Knowing about events and issues.<\/p>\n I value Boston Globe \u2013 best sports section in the world.<\/p>\n I value New York Times style section on Thursday\/Sunday.<\/p>\n Journalism is context\/coherence\/sense of history.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t trust random bloggers.<\/p>\n The Cincinnati Inquirer is a terrible paper but it lets Cincinnati know there\u2019s a place called Cincinnati.<\/p>\n In rural areas, they are especially important \u2013 community papers give a sense of being embedded in a community.<\/p>\n In one situation in NH, the local paper died and no one ran for office. Librarians had to start a place blog.<\/p>\n Valuable for voting \u2013 getting people to come out.<\/p>\n The most medieval and patriarchal organizations I have ever touched are the media.<\/p>\n Journalists psychologically all about control. Like physicians.<\/p>\n Value: attachment to community<\/p>\n Love, engagement with the community<\/p>\n Way to challenge power, outrage, outlet for anger Learn about things that are important but don\u2019t have time to directly experience them.<\/p>\n Black radio was once a political force.<\/p>\n Rich people have the Internet, can keep reading. Non-native English speakers underserved.<\/p>\n Value if reporter is reflecting my values and community \u2013 ethnicity, gender diversity. Problem now in coverage that doesn\u2019t cover all neighborhoods: \u201cthe only time people read about my neighborhood is when someone is shot.\u201d Non-existence of black women. Racism. They show cute white kids in galoshes.<\/p>\n Problem: coverage based on crisis, disaster, conflict.<\/p>\n Value in what Al-Jazeera calls \u201ccontextual objectivity\u201d.<\/p>\n Show where national budget is going in a pie chart. A sense that our government belongs to us. Education \u2013 this is where your tax dollars are going.<\/p>\n Value in the research and expertise. Scientific expertise – global warming.<\/p>\n Giving the public enough information about policy to engage politicians. Meritocracy of content.<\/p>\n Value in the Daily Show: backstory, fun, perspective, entertainment. Have an opinion but not propaganda. Saturday Night Live coverage of Sarah Palin made TV news more challenging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Submitted by PeggyHolman on Wed, 03\/11\/2009 – 2:46pmin Session Convenor:\u00a0\u00a0Bill Densmore Session Reporter:\u00a0\u00a0Hannah Miller Discussion Participants:\u00a0\u00a0A large group Question: What is the value of journalism? What does it offer to our communities that isn\u2019t already there? It has to do … Continue reading
\nCounterweight to powerful. Mediator.<\/p>\n