Gone are the days when the Brahmins of the news industry dictate what the audience should know.
What does the journalist of the 21st century have to know about listening to the crowd? And how can he or she break through the information overload to reach the public?
Bio
Bill Adair
Bill Adair is the Editor of PolitiFact and the Washington Bureau Chief for the St. Petersburg Times. He's worked in Washington since 1997 and has covered Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, national politics and aviation safety.
Adair is the author of The Mystery of Flight 427: Inside a Crash Investigation, a behind-the-scenes account of how the National Transportation Safety Board solved one of the biggest mysteries in aviation. He is the winner of the Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Coverage of Congress and the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award.
Ted Anthony
Ted Anthony is Assistant Managing Editor for The Associated Press. He is a veteran journalist, news manager and multimedia content manager who has reported from more than 20 countries and extensively covered post-9/11 conflicts in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a leader and participant in AP strategic projects designed to promote innovative storytelling, develop AP's newsgathering capabilities in social media and align news efforts with new product opportunities.
He is a specialist in long-form storytelling about changing American culture and author of the cultural history book, Chasing the Rising Sun: The Journey of an American Song (Simon & Schuster, 2007). He also specializes in stories about food and culture, particularly Chinese. He was nominated for Pulitzer Prize twice, in 1998 and 2001.
Andrew Golis
Andrew Golis is the Editor of a soon-to-be-launched network of news blog at Yahoo News.
Until recently, he was the Deputy Publisher of TalkingPointsMemo. As Deputy Publisher, he was a part of the management team guiding the company’s growth and worked on both editorial and business projects. In particular, he focused on audience engagement and expansion. He started at TPM in 2006 as an Associate Editor. Naming TPM one of the best blogs of 2009, Time Magazine called it "the prototype of what a successful Web-based news organization is likely to be in the future."
He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in American political history and social thought. While in college, he worked on national political campaigns, edited a student blog and wrote columns for the campus paper.
Rachel Davis Mersey
Rachel Davis Mersey joined the Medill faculty in 2008 as an assistant professor of journalism with a specialization in audience understanding. The consistent focus of her work is on the craft of journalism. She is intrigued, in particular, by journalism's impact on sense of community, civic participation, and social capital.
She believes that these relationships deserve to be understood in a manner that can enhance professional decision-making when it comes to new product development and ongoing news management. Her aim is to improve the practice of journalism in a manner that enhances news operations' connections with their communities. Additionally, working to master the evolution of these constructs advances scholarship related to social identity theory, social networking theory, and psychological sense of community.
Before coming to Medill, she was on the faculty at the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she was an affiliate faculty member of political psychology. She also worked at The Arizona Republic in Phoenix where she was part of the news team that launched the newspaper’s weekly tabloid targeting women 18 to 34. In addition, she worked across platforms with azcentral.com and the local NBC-affiliate.
She earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2007. Her advisers were Philip Meyer and Rhonda Gibson, Ph.D.
Jack Wakshlag
Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), is among the leading research and performance analysts in media today. His portfolio includes all research supporting the company's strategic development, marketing, distribution and ad sales. In addition, he is responsible for research supporting Turner initiatives in innovation, online metrics and new delivery platforms. He is based in Atlanta and reports to Kelly Regal, executive vice president, TBS, Inc.
Previously executive vice president and head of research for The WB television network, Wakshlag oversaw all research related to the network's programming, distribution, publicity, marketing and sales. He joined The WB in 1995 from CBS, where he served as director of research for CBS New Media and Television Stations, from 1988 to 1994; and director of primary research for CBS Television Stations, from 1986 to 1988.
Wakshlag was an associate professor of telecommunications at Indiana University from 1977 to 1986. The author of numerous articles and textbook chapters, Wakshlag serves on the Board of Directors of The Advertising Research Foundation, is a member of the CTAM Research Committee and is a Steering Committee Member of the Board of The Council for Research Excellence. He has served on the board of the Broadcast Education Association and the editorial board of The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. Acknowledged for his industry leadership as part of the CableFAX 100 twice, Wakshlag is a frequently quoted source and presenter at industry events.
Wakshlag earned a bachelor of arts degree from Queens College, a master of arts degree from Illinois State University and a doctorate in mass communication research from Michigan State University which honored him, in 2000, with its Distinguished Alumni Award.
Journalism professor Rachel Davis Mersey argues that modern journalists should create and curate news targeted to a specific audience, keeping their varied social identities in mind.
"It's about knowing an audience in a meaningful way," she says.
Journalists Rachel Davis Mersey and Ted Anthony defend "The Daily Show" from NPR's Ira Glass who claims Jon Stewart is not really helping people become good citizens. Is democracy in trouble if people trust "The Daily Show" more than they trust CNN?
Collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through media such as pamphlets, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, radio, film, television, and books. The term was originally applied to the reportage of current events in printed form, specifically newspapers, but in the late 20th century it came to include electronic media as well. It is sometimes used to refer to writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation. Colleges and universities confer degrees in journalism and sponsor research in related fields such as media studies and journalism ethics.
Many people want to act as if this is still a democracy. One has to feel sorry for their inability to admit our real condition: some time ago the Republic (in its macro sense) fell to a used to be hidden oligarchy of wealth. The remnants of the Republic possibly could be forged into something new, but the first requirement is to cease being addicted to the illusion that our involvement in voting (as individual citizens) has any effect on actual macro social policy. Progressives have to stop trying to reform the moral swamp that is Washington D.C., and turn those energies into local situations, where we form self-help communities (instead of working with macro political parties) devoted to solving real local problems regarding local banking and currencies, local food and health issues, and local matters of justice. We have to step outside the box of old thinking, and reinvent the Republic from the ground up locally. We make new social agreements with our neighbors, and try to stay away from following the siren call of macro political battles that just waste energy and accomplish nothing real. Presidents are not saints, and have very limited powers. Keep in mind the lesson of Katrina - we are on our own, and must learn to work together without waiting for big daddy in Washington or in the State Capital, or down at the Mayor's office to save us from what in many circumstances is our own folly. Google "Counter-Moves: finding victory in the war the rich are making upon the poor"
I live in St. Petersburg, Florida, and from what I've observed is, the St. Petersburg Times promotes dishonest, corrupt, and criminal candidates. An honest candidate who came from the grass root efforts of the people will be ignored by the St. Petersburg Times, and if mentioned at all, they will be made fun of.
To trust the St. Petersburg Times on any grounds is foolish...
To Stewart’s credit and the market fear of other news outlets, he makes sense to those who have a deeper understanding of many of the issues. The scariest problem for our sociality is the fact the FoxNews can exist and survive. The right can rap a lie in ignorance, the left needs to rap truth it in comedy to avoid the ignorant. The bottom line is, truth is expensive, and opinion is cheap.
The biggest problem with this discusion is WE ARE NOT A DEMOCRACY. We are a Republic. The word Democracy does not appear in our Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or ANY of the 50 states Constitions. I am tired of people throwing the word Democracy around. A Democracy is actually quite dangerous.
Yeah! It WAS a come-on! Shame on FORA for portraying it as such.
To the point, however, the fellow who brings up Glass and Stewart was basically rambling about viewership for "story-telling" - not NEWS.
The panelists had nothing so much to say as increasing sales, market, penetration -- nothing about insight or what JOURNALISM needs to do.
I personally find that withal "The Daily Show's" obvious humor/comedy/pratfalls, there are some REALLY very pointed observations which "MSM" has, still, failed to identify in any clear and obvious way. Yeah, it IS frightening that so many people think that FOX is "unbiased"; so where is the "journalists" response? Don't THEY care about the TRUTH or Information? Or are they just concerned with marketshare like any other commodity for sale?
My thoughts exactly. A good hook is important, but c'mon FORA. I didn't click on it because of Jon Stewart's face, I was truly interested in hearing THAT debate and how each side was going to defend their point of view. While the talk was overall interesting, I did feel mislead.
Wait wait, let me get this straight. Because some person in the crowd wants to comment about what Ira Glass said on NPR, this deserves the headline in the FORA weekly newsletter?
Or are you just trying to capitalize on a criticism of Jon Stewart to drive hits. Either way, I was expecting some worthwhile discussion, not some heckler in the crowd who was categorically dismissed by your esteemed thinkers.
I'm not impressed.
oh no! the corporations that own CNN might not be heard...
...but what about all those oil rigs & fighter craft that need to be sold?
*shriek* the horrors of free speech & mob education...
why, all those people who should learn to shut up & do as they're told...
...might get the idea that democracy includes knowing more than what you're told by Money & Power.
how dare people listen to anyone but the trusted mouthpieces of Corporate Greed & Oligarchy!
They've got some stealing & bombing to get handled !
so shut up & do as your told for American Interests: that's American democracy, that's The American Way!
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