[...] paid what the public want to pay them, not what they think they are worth. This is the problem with Downie and Schudson’s plea for greater subsidy for [...]

[...] Six steps toward 'reconstructing' journalism throws needed spotlight on local coverage / #… ' The Reconstruction of American Journalism sets its sights wholly on local news. Its built on the thesis that the accountability journalism found in local newspapers offers the most value to communities, and the most risk if it disappears.' [...]

[...] Each brought their perspectives to bear on what exactly is the future of sustainable news: Golas, whose $250,000 per-annum, development-and-zoning-news site is funded by the William Penn Foundation, seemed to make clear his hope that philanthrophic organizations would continue to take a large burden; Shea spoke about partnerships continuing legacy trustee news operations; Sweeney, who remained the most reserved on the topic, danced around filling a vacancy left elsewhere (in his case, he said, the slow-to-develop Web presence of alternative weeklies, like those that formerly employed him) and building a business and Schimmel, among other references, wondered aloud if others felt necessary and plausible the possibility of tax fund, not unlike what fuels the BBC or an item in the recently released Downie and Schudon report. [...]

[...] like someone at Columbia agrees with their colleague Michael Schudson’s argument that universities should get more involved in creating original [...]

[...] element of the Downie/Schudson report that’s triggered the most fuss is its call for a larger role for the government in funding [...]

[...] overviews of the report, without heavy commentary, try Mac Slocum or David [...]

[...] on The Reconstruction of American Journalism [pdf] [abridged], Nieman Lab posted a breakdown into six main points which included the [...]

My favorite example of a newspaper out of touch with its readers stems from a series that the Philadelphia Inquirer, under Gene Roberts, published in the early 1980s, shortly after the closing of the Philadelphia Bulletin, its only real competitor. I was in Philly, applying for a job at the Inquirer. I walked to Roberts’ office through dilapidated streets, spotting my first murder victim on a sidewalk on the way. And what dominated that day’s paper? The first of a multi-part series on the disappearing African rhinoceros, written by an Inquirer reporter and photographed by an Inquirer photographer, who had been sent to Africa for the project. This, while the city of Philadelphia continued its slow decline around the newspaper whose monopoly position meant it could indulge the egos and interests of its editors to the exclusion of the information needs of its readers.

[...] Columbia Journalism Review is reporting even critical reaction.  Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab calls the report “a welcome palate [...]

[...] Downie and Schudson’s 6 steps toward “reconstructing” journalism Nieman Journalism… NiemanLab.org | October 19, 2009 A good outline of the 6 points that are emphasized in the report. Quote: “There is no market solution obvious right now that will provide the same level of subsidy to journalism that existed under the monopoly paper model,” Anderson said. [...]

[...] And they keep coming. From the Nieman Journalism Lab: Downie and Schudson’s 6 steps toward “reconstructing” journalism. [...]