Jun 12, 2009
June 12th, 2009 by nicolaskb
As traditional media outlets close down, the relative importance of non-market players becomes more important.
Governments around the world were quick to see the opportunities for their news agencies. From Xinhua (China) to ITAR-TASS (Russia), from AFP (half of its budget comes from state subscriptions) to Voice of America, governments are trying to shape the world’s public opinion.
The coverage of Gaza by Al Jazeera is a case in point. They produced quality journalism no other outlet could dream of. Now, viewers should keep in mind that money for such newsgathering comes straight from the pocket of the Emir of Qatar. Believe me, I’m sure Al Jazeera’s journalists keep that in mind too.
To help you measure the amount of government-funded journalism, I built this little app, I smell a government rat in my news. Just type in any query and you’ll see the share of articles produced with state funds. [Read more]
Apr 3, 2009
April 3rd, 2009 by alexlockwood
The government has launched a new inquiry into the future of local and regional media – and there’s just six weeks to have your say on the subject.
None of us (yet) have the answers to the question of new journalism business models, and the local and regional press is suffering some of the hardest hits. But ideas and initiatives are presenting themselves everyday. And now the Culture, Media and Sport Committee is looking for views on a range of tough issues, including:
- The impact of newspaper closures on independent local journalism and access to local information;
- How to fund quality local journalism;
- The appropriateness and effectiveness of print and electronic publishing initiatives undertaken directly by public sector bodies at the local level;
- The opportunities and implications of BBC partnerships with local media;
- Incentives for investment in local content;
- Opportunities for “ultra-local” media services.
We’re thinking about a collective response from journalism educators and OJB readers to the key questions, coordinated from here. So to begin with, what are your ideas, links to the best think pieces you’ve read or examples you’ve seen? Do you agree with the call to relax competition laws to allow local newspaper publishers to merge? Or what about Andy Burnham’s statement that there will be no bailout for local papers.
Let’s use this as a starting point to develop a collective, crowdsourced response to the inquiry.
I smell a government rat in my news
