Authors Robert McChesney and John Nichols On The Death And Life Of American Journalism
Cambridge, MA - On the one hand, newspapers like the Cincinnati Post, the Rocky Mountain News, and the Christian Science Monitor are going out of business or becoming on-line only publications. On the other hand, what remains of commercial print, broadcast, and online news, according to authors Robert McChesney and John Nichols, tends to favor celebrity and scandal driven reporting.
p>Photos by Jason Pramas. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2010 Jason Pramas.
Those developments in news media are sobering enough, but for working journalists and students just coming into the field, prospects are truly bleak. According to various sources, about a thousand journalism jobs are lost every month - mostly editorial jobs, although there is also severe downsizing in advertising, administration, and printing departments.
Tough realities notwithstanding, McChesney, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and his longtime writing partner John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine, think journalism – the type of journalism that holds governments and corporations accountable and seeks the ‘best available version of the truth’ – has a chance to survive if bold steps are taken.
Their prescriptions for the fourth estate - old and new media alike - are contained in their latest book, "The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin The World Again."
Speaking at the Harvard Coop Bookstore on Tuesday, February 2, the two writers explained the current crisis in the news business and revealed how government interventions have supported journalism throughout American history. Despite the onset of the "Great Recession," as some have called today's economic situation, both McChesney and Nichols believe that support for investigative, insightful, and profound journalism must become a national priority.
OMB Audio: John Nichols presentation
OMB Audio: Robert McChesney presentation
Web Resources:
http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/john_nichols
http://www.robertmcchesney.com/
