Creating a U.S. National Journalism Foundation [Commentary

Abstract

It is time now to move beyond handwringing and nostalgia over our vanished American journalism past. While market forces will sustain some forms of serious reportage, evidence is mounting that creators of journalism in the public interest can’t innovate their way out of a deepening technological crisis. From the new frontiers of digital media to the decaying world of print newspapers to the diminished aspirations of once-mighty magazines, market and economic forces continue to reduce the scale and scope of public- interest journalism.