WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Want to play a role in developing and launching a prototype "next newsroom"? More than 100 people have already signed up for a two-day event in Washington, part of the "Journalism That Matters" series. Pre-registration rates end on Friday.
The Aug. 7-8 gathering, subtitled: "What happens when only the journalism is left?" is hosted by the School of Media & Public Affairs at The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Among participants and co-convenors are Merrill Brown, Dan Gillmor, Lee Huebner, Ellen Hume, Geneva Overholser, Chris Peck, Jay Rosen, Jan Schaffer and Bill Kovach.
It will include a 1 p.m. public briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 7, in the Jack Morton Auditorium at GWU, entitled: "The State of Citizen Media."
The goal is to plan how journalism will endure as advertising and 20th-century structures which supported it go elsewhere or fall away, says Bill Densmore, director of the Media Giraffe Project, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which is helping organize the gathering.
"Strip away the platforms, the jobs, the institutions, and what will sustain participatory democracy?" asks Densmore. "Are we advancing to a news ecosystem more like English coffeehouses and pamphleteering than mass media?"
To move beyond just talk, Journalism That Matters will pick an ideal location and help start a new news organization from scratch, using the best-available technology and ideas, and without the obligations or burdens of legacy processes or infrastructure, says Densmore. "Next month, we'll be deciding where it will be, what it will look like, who will own it, and how it will run," he says.
ABOUT JOURNALISM THAT MATTERS
Journalism That Matters is an informal collaboration of journalists which has convened five meetings over two years to gather ideas for the "next newsroom" prototype. Using discussion and dialog, rather than panels and speakers, Journalism That Matters participants consider new economic models, training and education and the relationship between professional and citizen, or amateur, journalists.
Funding and support comes from The Media Giraffe Project, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Blandin Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, FreePress, Voxant Inc. and The Washington Post Co., among others.
To register, start at http://www.mediagiraffe.org/jtm
Journalism That Matters and the Media Giraffe Project are seeking participant diversity and welcome requests for registration fee waivers from students (including high-school students), people representing underserved communities, and stand-alone citizen journalists who might not otherwise be able to attend. Send requests or nominee information to jtm@mediagiraffe.org before July 17.
WHO'S COMING: http://www.mediagiraffe.org/wiki/index.php/Jtm-dc-roster
REGISTER: https://www.123signup.com/event?id=xtfyv
OVERVIEW: http://www.mediagiraffe.org/jtm
INVITATION: http://www.mediagiraffe.org/jtm/email-invitation.html
ANOUNCEMENT: http://www.mediagiraffe.org/pdf/jtm-dc-announcement.pdf
PROGRAM: http://www.mediagiraffe.org/jtm/jtm-dc-program-agenda.pdf
