By Mondo Times editors
Boulder, Colorado USA
Posted on July 22, 2009 at 11:18pm

Journalism Sustains Democracy, Media System Must Change, Say Journalists

-- Writing in the Seattle Times on July 4, 2009, Victor Pickard And Joseph Torres share their ideas about how to save "America's democracy-sustaining journalism."

"NEWSPAPERS are in trouble. Big media companies are in bankruptcy, century-old newsrooms have shut their doors, and thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. The day seems imminent when a major American city will wake up without a broadsheet on anyone's doorstep.

The public's changing media habits have eroded the newspaper industry's monopoly on the local ad market. Today, more people get their news online than from newspapers. Fewer people are willing to pay for classified ads and are opting instead to place ads online. This is bad news for an industry that earns 90 percent of its revenue from print ads.

Despite the many shortcomings of newspapers, our democracy requires a free and vibrant press. There's growing debate in Washington, D.C., about how to address the journalism crisis. The big media companies are pressuring Congress to prop up their failed business models by allowing more media consolidation and relaxing antitrust laws so they can collude on new "pay wall" and pricing schemes.

But these shortsighted measures aren't the answer. We must recognize that the current crisis isn't just about the future of newspapers; it's about the survival of democracy-sustaining journalism. We now have a unique and fleeting opportunity to overhaul our media system and advocate for policies that would serve the informational needs of diverse communities."

The full story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009414766_guests05freepress.html

A copy of the Free Press report "Saving the News: Toward a National Journalism Strategy" can be downloaded at:

http://www.freepress.net/files/saving_the_news.pdf

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