Outcry over Juan Williams’ firing from NPR underscores why we don’t need more government subsidies for journalism

If you think government should subsidize journalism, check out the outcry over NPR’s firing of Juan Williams. I’m not going to weigh in on whether Williams’ remarks should have been a firing offense. You can argue that in a circle with valid points on either side and I don’t care to. My point is simply [...]

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4 things the feds should do instead of protecting newspapers

The federal government has lots of important issues it needs to deal with these days. It doesn’t need to deal with protecting newspapers. It shouldn’t protect newspapers. It can’t afford to protect with newspapers. howardowens Dear Uncle Sam: Butt out. We don’t need your interference in the news business. 29 May 2010 from web The [...]

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Five more reasons government shouldn’t subsidize journalism

Sigh. The drumbeat for unwise government subsidies for journalism continues with a How to Save Journalism essay in The Nation. It was written by Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols, authors of The Death and Life of American Journalism, just published. I hardly know where to start in addressing the faulty reasoning of the essay. [...]

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Five reasons government shouldn’t subsidize journalism

If you are interested in this, check out Five more reasons government shouldn’t subsidize journalism, responding to another piece by McChesney and Nichols. This madness has to stop. Intelligent people have to stop thinking that government funding is the solution to the economic challenges facing newspapers. I love newspapers. I hope they survive and thrive (again) [...]

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Commentary on Downie and Schudson’s “The Reconstruction of American Journalism”

While I am critical of the Columbia University report, The Reconstruction of American Journalism, I am pleased that it has stirred debate about the future of journalism. Here are the most interesting takes I have seen on the report by Columbia journalism professor Michael Schudson and former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr: Tom Grubisch [...]

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Michael Schudson discusses government’s historic role supporting journalism

Michael Schudson accepted my invitation to continue our discussion about The Reconstruction of American Journalism. I  blogged critically Monday about his report with former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. Schudson responded Thursday and I replied today . I recommend reading the other links, if you haven’t yet, before reading this. Schudson is a journalism professor at [...]

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I respond to Michael Schudson’s defense of “Reconstructing Journalism” report

This is my response to Michael Schudson’s response to my criticism of his report with former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., The Reconstruction of American Journalism. I recommend reading the other links, if you haven’t yet, before reading this. Schudson is a journalism professor at Columbia University. While I encourage you to read Schudson’s response [...]

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Columbia’s Michael Schudson responds to criticism of “Reconstructuring Journalism” report

Thanks to Columbia University journalism professor Michael Schudson, who responded to my Monday post criticizing his report with Leonard Downie Jr., The Reconstruction of American Journalism. I responded separately to his comments: A response to your thoughtful post: First, this was no clip job. Unless there’s something that escaped my  attention, every direct quote in [...]

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American media need innovation, not subsidy

Update: Michael Schudson has responded to this post. Whatever else it is, The Reconstruction of American Journalism is not comprehensive. Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor of the Washington Post, and Michael Schudson, authors of the Columbia University report, described their work in the Post today as a “comprehensive report.” They recommend federal subsidies for news [...]

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A proposal for government steps to bail out journalism

This post is now out of date: I just posted my response to this report: American media need innovation, not subsidy. I will be blogging later today on a report released by Columbia University titled The Reconstruction of American Journalism. From a summary in the Washington Post by the report’s authors, former Washington Post Executive [...]

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Objectivity and neutrality aren’t the only ways to protect journalists’ credibility

Journalists have never been able to keep our opinions and biases out of our work. Nor should we. Our job is to report the important, interesting and relevant news of the nation, the world or our communities. And, if we’re honest, we have to admit that important, interesting and relevant are matters of opinion. We [...]

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