jtm2007

Clinton advisor's view on how "elite" editors skew news

Are newspaper editors out of touch with their mass readership? Hillary Clinton's strategic advisory, Mark J. Penn thinks they may be. Penn was TV talk host Charlie Rose's guest on Oct. 16, 1997. He was pitching his book, published Sept. 5: "MicroTrends: The Small Forces Behinds Tomorrow's Big Changes" (published Sept. 5, 2007 by Twelve) It lists 75 trends.

In the book, Penn told Rose, he writes about the class of Americans called the "impressionable elites." He says these elites are more impressed by the personality of a candidate than the candidates views on issues. The impessionable elite, "today is more likely to be the Ph.D. The elites are becoming more fascinated with personality while working class voters are more educated than ever before, they face everyday life problems . . . [they want to know] what the proposal means, how it is structured for them. The elites don't have the same connection to the everyday problems."

He also talks about the "long-attention spanners."

"It's very surprising that one of the biggest events of the year, is in fact the State of the Union that lasts like an hour, you'd think Americans wouldn't be interested in it, you'd think they'd want to watch the Super Bowl or the World Series. But they love to watch the State of the Union. Because average voters are into the issues. They're into being serious."

Rose: "[I]f they're into it -- why don't we see more of it on television?"

Penn: "Well, that's because the elites have gotten more interested in the opposite. The big newspapers are hiring more style and personality reporters. A lot of the average working-class citizens are moving to the Internet, they are getting a lot more information on the issues and proposals than ever before. They are consuming tons of information . . . part of the point of the book is that you've got to treat these voters with respect because they know so much more and they are so much more issue oriented than people have been giving them credit for."

YOU CAN WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW: http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/10/16/2/a-conversation-with-mark-penn-chief-strategist-for-hillary-clinton

Foundation ownership of newspapers -- Haynes finds a 1916 essay

sJTM2007 participant Arthur S. Hayes of Fordham University ([email protected]) has run across an essay published more than 90 years ago that proposes newspapers should be owned by foundations in order to mitigate the pressures of investor ownership. Victo Yarros wrotein 1916:

We have various "foundations" for education, for research, for progressive philanthropy, for certain social and industrial reforms. They are indispensable. We know that higher arts, the higher music, could not exist without liberal endowment. Is it not sufficiently clear that sound, clean, and dignified journalism cannot hope to take root, to establish itself in modern cities, without at least temporary endowment . . . . "

Excerpted from: "A Neglected Opportunity and Duty in Journalism," by Victo
S. Yarros, The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 22, No. 2. (Sept., > 1916), pp. 203-211.

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: http://www.mediagiraffe.org/pdf/endowed.pdf

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DC gathering invites participants for "next newsroom" prototype launch plan

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 [email protected] 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