Comments on: New Strategies for Saving the News http://www.stopbigmedia.com/blog/2009/05/new-strategies-for-saving-the-news/ Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:17:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Josh Stearns http://www.stopbigmedia.com/blog/2009/05/new-strategies-for-saving-the-news/comment-page-1/#comment-16540 Josh Stearns Wed, 13 May 2009 20:48:25 +0000 http://live.stopbigmedia.com/blog/2009/05/new-strategies-for-saving-the-news/#comment-16540 Hi BJ - Indeed we recognize the risk in direct federal funding of journalism, which is why the first of our five principles regarding any national journalism strategy or journalism policy is that it must protect and encourage freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Clearly, we should not tolerate government policies that restrict speech or favor particular speakers over others. However, there is nothing wrong with government policies that promote speech of all kinds. In fact, inherent to the First Amendment’s guarantee of the freedom of the press is the responsibility of the government to promote the widest possible dissemination of diverse viewpoints. There are many successful models here and abroad of ways to create strong firewalls between government and publicly funded journalism. Government policy has long been a part of shaping our media system - but too often those policies led to a media system that puts corporate interests over public interests. We have tried to outline in the paper (linked above) a few policies we think can preserve and even expand freedom of the press while still funding new and greater journalism efforts. Hi BJ – Indeed we recognize the risk in direct federal funding of journalism, which is why the first of our five principles regarding any national journalism strategy or journalism policy is that it must protect and encourage freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Clearly, we should not tolerate government policies that restrict speech or favor particular speakers over others. However, there is nothing wrong with government policies that promote speech of all kinds. In fact, inherent to the First Amendment’s guarantee of the freedom of the press is the responsibility of the government to promote the widest possible dissemination of diverse viewpoints.

There are many successful models here and abroad of ways to create strong firewalls between government and publicly funded journalism. Government policy has long been a part of shaping our media system – but too often those policies led to a media system that puts corporate interests over public interests. We have tried to outline in the paper (linked above) a few policies we think can preserve and even expand freedom of the press while still funding new and greater journalism efforts.

]]> By: bj http://www.stopbigmedia.com/blog/2009/05/new-strategies-for-saving-the-news/comment-page-1/#comment-16539 bj Wed, 13 May 2009 19:03:42 +0000 http://live.stopbigmedia.com/blog/2009/05/new-strategies-for-saving-the-news/#comment-16539 There's a danger here. When journalistic organizations depend on funding from the government which they are supposed to be watching, there is a huge conflict. Actually, it's similar to the conflict that exists now where the corporations who buy advertising have a huge say in what news gets printed . . . or not. There’s a danger here. When journalistic organizations depend on funding from the government which they are supposed to be watching, there is a huge conflict. Actually, it’s similar to the conflict that exists now where the corporations who buy advertising have a huge say in what news gets printed . . . or not.

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