Tag: journalism

Democracy Forum 2/15/19

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine
Engineer: Amy Browne

Participatory Democracy: The Free Press and a Functioning Democracy

We talk about democracy, journalism, the state of play in American news.
Can fact-based journalism survive?
Can democracy survive otherwise?

Guests:
Earl Brechlin, Earl was the founding editor of the Mount Desert Islander. friendsofacadia.org/news/friends-acadia-welcomes-earl-brechlin-communications-director/
Burt Neuborne, Burt Neuborne is the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties and founding Legal Director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. He is the author of the book, Madison’s Music, that explores a deep reading of the First Amendment. its.law.nyu.edu/facultyprofiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.biography&personid=20165
Judy Woodruff, Judy Woodruff is the anchor and managing editor of the PBS Newshour. www.pbs.org/newshour/about/judy-woodruff

To learn more about this topic:
More Important But Less Robust? Five Things Everybody Needs to Know about the Future of Journalism Reuters Institute Report, January, 2019
Does Journalism have a Future? Jill Lepore in The New Yorker, January 28, 2019
Is journalism’s `pivot to dust’ arriving? Megan McArdle in the Washington Post, January 26, 2019
How We Know Journalism is Good for Democracy, Josh Stearns, posted at Medium, a publication of PACE: Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, June 26, 2018
Local newspapers have already been gutted. There’s nothing left to cut. Steve Cavendish, the Washington Post, January 25, 2109.
Madison’s Music: On Reading the First Amendment, Burt Neuborne, 2015.

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Sheila Kirby, Ann Luther, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn

This episode of Democracy Forum was produced with support from the Maine Humanities Council.

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

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WERU Special, Truth and Evidence: The Role of the Media 8/30/18

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded/contributed by: John Greenman

A panel discussion at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota on June 16th, 2018. The panelists were Carleton alums Eric Wieffering of the Minneapolis Star Tribune; Mary Stuckey, Executive Director of Round Earth Media; and John Greenman, a reporter for Maine Public and other media outlets before retiring and volunteering here at WERU.

Democracy Forum 4/21/17

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine    
Engineer: Amy Browne

Issue: Participatory Democracy

Program Topic: Fake News: Who Can You Trust?

Key Discussion Points:
We’ll talk about the proliferation of news sources in the internet age
The role of independent journalism in a liberal democracy
The challenges for citizens in finding real news. b)

Guests:
John Christie, co-founder and senior editor for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. pinetreewatchdog.org/about/
Naomi Schalit, co-founder and senior reporter for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. pinetreewatchdog.org/about/
Melissa Zimdars, assistant professor of communication at Merrimack College in Massachusetts www.merrimack.edu/live/profiles/586-melissa-mish-zimdars

To learn more about this topic:
Study: Breitbart-led right-wing media ecosystem altered broader media agenda, Columbia Journalism Review, March 3, 2017
The Real Story About Fake News Is Partisanship, The Upshot, New York Times, January 11, 2017
There’s an intriguing sociological reason so many Americans are ignoring facts lately, Business Insider, February 27, 2017

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes:
Starr Gilmartin
Maggie Harling
Linda Hoskins
Ann Luther
Maryann Ogonowski
Pam Person
Leah Taylor
Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

Democracy Forum 6/17/16

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine    
Engineer: Amy Browne

Issue: Participatory Democracy

Program Topic: Press or Propaganda: Corporate Media, a Free Press, and the Future of Democracy

Key Discussion Points:
-Tension between corporate, profit-motivated ownership of mainstream media and the public interest mission served by journalism in an open democracy.
-What roles are old and new media playing in forming an educated electorate in 21st century America?
-The long-held belief in a liberal media bias has been challenged by the success of Fox News and the like. Is this kind of POV media a new phenomenon in American journalism? Which side is winning?
-What happens when the ultra-rich like Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch, and Jeffrey Bezos start buying up news outlets?
-Is this good for democracy? What can citizens do?

Guests:
Michael Franz, Associate Professor at Bowdoin College and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. https://mikemfranz.com/
John Christie, co-founder and senior editor for the Maine Center of Public Interest Reporting. http://pinetreewatchdog.org/about/

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes:
John Bradford
Linda Hoskins
Ann Luther
Marge May
Pam Person
Leah Taylor
Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

WERU Special 4/25/11

Producer/Host: Meaghan LaSala

Topics:

Segment1: Interview with Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, about their art collaborations, upcoming performances in Maine, sex positivity, and their role in creating the ecosexual movement. What is sex positivity? What does it mean to be ecosexual? FMI: http://www.loveartlab.org/

Segment 2: Audio from a panel “Journalism and Democacy: Rebuilding Media for Our Communities,” from the National Conference for Media Reform. Is journalism finding new models in the age of the internet, as newspapers continue to fold? Is American journalism supporting democracy? NCMR website (for the full panel and more audio from the conference):
http://conference.freepress.net/

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/28/10

Producer/Host:  Jim Campbell

“The State of the News Media 2009” is a sobering report from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. We’ll take a look at some of the trends the report observes. and on the impact that the decline of traditional news media is having on our lives, our culture, and, perhaps, on our way of governing ourselves. The full report is available at www.journalism.org.  Take a look for yourself.