Changing Media, Saving the News: Creating a National Journalism Strategy

Short Synopsis

Free Press is leading the creation of a national strategy to address the crisis in journalism through policies that will protect the First Amendment, produce quality coverage, foster vibrant and critical discourse, promote public accountability, prioritize innovation and keep a diverse corps of journalists on the job. We are bringing together journalists, lawmakers, philanthropists, academics and civic groups to craft viable policy solutions, while mobilizing people across the country to participate in the policymaking process.

Description/Treatment

Bad policy decisions have endangered the health of our press and with it, the health of our democracy. Five massive media conglomerates now control most of what Americans see, hear and read. The result: celebrity-consumed, sound-byte sensationalism parades as news, and a U.S.public that is ill-equipped to understand, and thus influence, the issues that matter most.

Hardly a day goes by without reading another obituary for the newspaper industry. Major dailies have already disappeared or have been severely shrunken. Sinking ad revenues and increased online readership are partly to blame, but many profitable newspapers are folding because their publishers are sinking in debt from buying up other newspapers, sacrificing the public’s interest for their shareholders’. It will take good policy decisions to reshape our media system and salvage journalism. 

THE SOLUTION

Free Press is among the most effective advocacy organizations in the nation. We promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. We have built a base of 500,000 activists, developed effective relationships with hundreds of organizations, and created diverse coalitions, aggregating political clout across the public and private sectors and the full political spectrum.

Most recently we have played a major role in the following victories: halting the further consolidation of media ownership; outlawing illegal Defense Department propaganda; stopping Comcast’s illegal blocking of Internet traffic; deterring Time Warner Cable from price gouging through consumption-based metering; opening up unused TV spectrum for high-speed Internet access; passing legislation to improve broadband data collection; and securing $7.2 billion in broadband infrastructure funding.

An “inside-out” strategy guides all of our work. Free Press’ DC-based analysts, researchers, lawyers and lobbyists have deep knowledge of public policy processes and are adept at identifying realistic political opportunities. We connect this expertise to our talented organizers who conduct public education, outreach and organizing activities designed to build grassroots leadership in support of media policies that strengthen our democracy.

Free Press is using this approach to address the crisis in journalism. Toward that end, our campaign is:

Bringing together top minds to explore and develop viable policy solutions. Free Press is hosting a series of roundtables with leading journalists, scholars and advocates to examine a slate of policy proposals. These include a range of approaches that involve foundations, non-profits, government subsidy and new payment models.

Making it easy for the public to play a role in media policymaking. While many may be aware of the crisis in our media, few understand how policy is both the source of the problem – and the key to its solution. Free Press works to connect the dots so the public understands what needs to change and then motivates involvement to make that change happen.

We use a variety of traditional and creative tactics to reach every demographic, including:

• Well-timed e-mail alerts that prompt rapid response. Our online organizing sends people to our ‘go-to’ Web sites — FreePress.net and our campaign-specific sites — where people can learn what they need to know about the issue and contact policymakers with just a few clicks. (Last year Free Press activists contacted officials over 450,000 times.)

• Frequent mention in the mainstream and alternative press that elevate awareness about media policy. Not only are we regularly quoted in The New York Times and other major outlets, but we appear on numerous popular blogs, keep a presence on social network sites like Facebook; produce videos that are seen by millions on YouTube; and host a weekly radio program.

• Publication of widely-cited research papers that substantiate our claims and debunk industry myths, invite testimony before Congress, and provide a roadmap for policymakers on emerging issues.

• Regular on-the-ground convenings that coalesce and build the media reform movement. Free Press’ National Conferences for Media Reform, summits, and public FCC hearings bring together lawmakers, academics, journalists, industry heads, civic leaders and everyday citizens to build a better media.