Forum to Explore New Media

Here's some very exciting news about innovative ways to find out what Americans are concerned about.

With war, recession and elections on their minds, Americans may feel they need access to news information now more than ever.

The James L. Knight Foundation selected three cities in America to hold public forums to address these issues and get a snapshot of how people in certain areas of the country gather news.

 Missoula, MT made the final cut, as did Philadelphia, PA and Mountain View, CA., home of Google.

The University of Montana's School of Journalism and Dean Peggy Kuhr are hosting the Missoula forum.

Kuhr said the evolution of news technology through the Internet is parallel to the continued revenue crisis in the news industry.

Because more newspapers are accessible online for free, subscriptions nationwide have plummeted and newsroom staffs are getting laid off to make ends meet, she said, "There's a real strain on the traditional media to try and maintain their news share."

In addition to several panel discussions featuring prominent figures from around Montana, the commission depends on input from the public.

Comments from all guests will be kept on a record for the commission to consider. "We don't just want talking heads," Kuhr said, " the opinion of younger Montanans is especially crucial."

The university will compile results from the community involvement program and then will release a list of recommendations for changes in public policy, if needed, regarding news media access and coverage and how to use the new media to be more effective in communications.

The commission will release its findings in the spring of 2009.

Now here is an institution committed to determining whether or not young people feel the issues they care about are being covered in mainstream media. I am anxious to see what the results are.


Photo of Missoula, MT by Jason Lengstorf. Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic