A lot can be learned about the future of public affairs journalism just by observing a process that acknowledges and rewards past work in this field.
I'm on the Board for the Premack Awards, which are given for public affairs journalism each year. This is the first year I've attended the actual awards, and I deserve no credit for how well things went. It was a great and timely discussion.
The awardees were fantastic, and deserving of recognition. Their insight on issues like homelessness and education were worthwhile just by themselves. But it became clearer in the follow-up discussion how much in transition the profession is, and how much this raises questions about the core purpose of journalism. I tried to write about this in my latest "Viewpoint" column. But I can see the result of this tension in much of the reporting on issues from the Capitol.
Is the threat to newspapers posed by technology and changing tastes a threat to public affairs reporting, or an opportunity to redefine and expand the definition of journalism and public affairs information? The mix of hope and anger and concern in the room made for a great debate.
I'm on the Board for the Premack Awards, which are given for public affairs journalism each year. This is the first year I've attended the actual awards, and I deserve no credit for how well things went. It was a great and timely discussion.
The awardees were fantastic, and deserving of recognition. Their insight on issues like homelessness and education were worthwhile just by themselves. But it became clearer in the follow-up discussion how much in transition the profession is, and how much this raises questions about the core purpose of journalism. I tried to write about this in my latest "Viewpoint" column. But I can see the result of this tension in much of the reporting on issues from the Capitol.
Is the threat to newspapers posed by technology and changing tastes a threat to public affairs reporting, or an opportunity to redefine and expand the definition of journalism and public affairs information? The mix of hope and anger and concern in the room made for a great debate.
- It should come as no surprise to readers here that there was a strong undercurrent among some of the audience that the decline in news coverage from the two papers meant the end to informed citizens and policy-makers. One audience member went so far as to suggest that the public "scared" him and he couldn't stand the thought of them playing a stronger role through blogs, etc.
- Well — I've spent time with the public and most of them inspire me. What scares and concerns me is when "experts" see journalism as simply the broadcasting of information through the radio waves or through newsprint to an ignorant public. Rather than seeing it as the collection of information and the distillation of information into knowledge for a public that is trying to pay attention and who's intuitive insight on policy is really pretty good.
- We're clearly moving into a new era, but we don't fully have the infrastructure in place to realize the potential of this new era.
- Again, none of this is not necessarily insight. But I can see the consequences of this transition in gaps in public affairs reporting which aren't sufficiently made up for in non-mainstream media. Examples?
- The under-reporting of the proposed moratorium on charter schools. What's really behind the issue, and what does this say about the status of public education reform and improvement in Minnesota?
- The potential for "good news" in the mental health reform proposals. While this has received some notice, no one to my knowledge has looked into the policy process that has helped to produce this opportunity. It's a hopeful model for other tough issues.