Nrm

Journalism That Matters

D.W. Reynolds Journalism Institute

Media Giraffe Project

Rebooting Rockwell's America:

A PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM / September 11-13, 2009 / Stockbridge, Massachusetts

News, values, cafes and the new pamphleteers --
Sustaining democracy through civic engagement

New roles for journalism -- and the net -- in fostering participatory democracy and community

---

The America of Norman Rockwell's mid-20th-century illustrations was rich with simple truths and sometimes hard choices. In that world, we respected authority, and the flag. We were asked to embrace justice, equality and tolerance. The country editor personified the Four Freedoms at the grassroots.

Eighteenth-century English and Colonial America coffee houses served as headquarters for shipping news and havens for gatherings of patriots. They were crucibles for democracy, a shared space for uninhibited debate and discussion of issues and events. Could 21st-century "Newscafes" -- well connected and served by a circuit-riding journalists help bring journalism back to community? READ MORE

On Sept. 11, 2001, it was as if the last vestiges of Rockwell's stoic, insular, yet generous nation had been torn asunder, and a new, darker period of fear engaged. A buy-now-pay later ethic has brought some of our most valued journalism institutions to the brink. Now even the country editor works with bits and bytes alongside type and ink. Yet innovation abounds on the Internet, and we find new ways to connect and circulate. If Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter have taught us anything, it's that we may hunger for the constancy of community more than ever.

Options -- and tools

Can we reboot Rockwell's America in a digital age? Do we want to? Join us Sept. 11-13 to consider the options -- and tools.

"Rebooting Rockwell's America," will pause for three days to consider the roots of American community, freedom, democracy -- and the journalism which protects each. We'll consider how a generation of virtual pamphleteers -- in cafes, schools, clubs and meeting rooms -- may be helping point us to common ground in physical places. And now there is the promise that these places will be digitally united across a world that grows smaller, faster, more diverse and more precious by the year.

WHERE WE'LL GATHER -- OUR SPONSORS -- THE SCHEDULE

Rockwell Museum

"Rebooting Rockwell's America," is a initiative of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and most of the sessions and breakouts will be hosted at the 00,000-square-foot museum in Stockbridge, Mass., the heart of the Berkshires, one of America's premiere cultural destinations. Four co-convenors are at the forefront of studying America's new news and community ecologies. They are the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, the Media Giraffe Project at the University of Massachusetts and the Journalism that Matters collaborative and the Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University.

We'll convene Friday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m., run through dinner and an evening program. Saturday will be filled with discussions, breakouts and work sessions. After an evening of entertainment on Saturday night, we'll collect convene on Sunday morning to collect thoughts and confirm actions, adjourning by noon.

THE PROGRAM: TALKS, BREAKOUTS, IDEA SESSIONS

PROGRAM DETAILS POSTED AFTER JULY 1

---

Historians, authors, scholars, journalists, technologists, volunteer and citizen jouranalists and new local media entrepreneurs will seed our talks and conversations. We'll work toward some fresh insights on the capacity of the social-media technologies to create and nurture real communities . . . to sustain the values and purposes of journalism in service of democracy. Our goal is to tap the wisdom of each participant, to trade examples of journalism that matters and journalism that works. Among topics we'll consider:

Considering the options

• Coverage and the commonweal -- where do we come in? -- Whether its reconsidering a water line, rescuing a library from closure, rallying support for arts education, or electing a U.S. president, the public is learning that blogs, tweets, mobile phones and social networks are powerful mechanisms for ad-hoc organizing around civic issues. What responsibilities to we undertake to the commonweal when we turn these powerful tools to policy, and political, ends?

• Rethinking The Journalists Creed -- In 1914, Walter Williams, the founder of the Missouri School of Journalism -- the nation's oldest -- wrote "The Creed" . . . a lofty, Rockwell-like expression of high principles for a craft which he passionately believed must be a profession. Almost a century later, anyone with a Internet connection has an audience, and may assert the role of journalist. What elements of trust are still required and how do we find them? (With Mike Fancher, retired editor of The Seattle Times, who has just spend a year rethinking the ethics and purpose of journalism under a Missouri fellowship.)

• How can you trust the news? -- We have relied upon journalists, and the news organizations which publish and air their stories, to vet our news, and to give it an imprimateur of truth, independence and integrity. If the advertising and subscription revenues are decoupled from the support of journalism, who will vet the news? (Led by Fabrice Florin, of NewsTrust.net)

• What's the news that's needed? -- Last year, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation empaneled a commission to study the information needs of communities in a democracy. What did the panel discover, and how are those needs going to be met? What is the role of citizens and of what remains of news organizations?

• Are bloggers the new pamphleteers? -- In Colonial America most printers were also publishers -- and hence journalists. They would produce broadsheets or pamphlets and these became the way news traveled throughout the colonies. They were opinionated and local -- and often challenged authority. And it wasn't hard to publish. Today, America's political bloggers are similiarly opinionated and local -- or topically speciifc. And they are are having some impact -- just as the pamphleteers of the 1700s and early 1800s. In an era of big government and big institutions, is that enough? (try to get Eric Burns, author of "Infamous Scribblers," and Tye Resch, biographer of Anthony Haswell.)

Considering the tools

• "Newscafes: Reporting comes back home" -- The Industrial Age turned news into an industry. Giant, high-speed presses, and then powerful broadcast transmitters, allowed journalists to reach millions -- yet perhaps touch fewer and fewer citizens close to home. What will happen, as reporters disconnect from the industry, and rejoin real communities? How might this process be accelerated, and sustained? In The Berkshires, the Norman Rockwell Museum is part of an innovative experiment with roots in English coffeehouses and revoluntary pamphleteers.

• "Building the Community Information Center" -- Not long ago, the news lived in silos -- daily, weekly, broadcast, cable. The web is the great leveler, where all meet. Now communities face the opportunity, and challenge, of supporting or creating information centers that cross platforms. What role might public libraries play? Cable public-access stations? Traditional private news organizations? And non-profit groups? (Examples: Tony Shawcross in Denver; Mountain Area Information Network in Asheville, N.C., others to come.)