Comments on: How Much Would It Take to Endow Nonprofit Journalism? http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/10/20/how-much-would-it-take-to-endow-nonprofit-journalism/ The national media watch group Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:31:47 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: Tobi Dragert http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/10/20/how-much-would-it-take-to-endow-nonprofit-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-9909 Tobi Dragert Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:53:13 +0000 http://www.fair.org/blog/?p=13145#comment-9909 The MSM never has been liberal - it's a fallacy invented and perpetrated by right-wingers. To the right wing, liberal media means that which reports the whole truth, despite how it makes some politicians look. And "fair and balanced" to them means putting forth opposing views to absolutely everything Democrats suggest, most often even if there is no valid "opposing view" -- the more outrageous the "opposing view" they put out, and the louder the big mouth stating it, the higher their TV ratings go. It's all entertainment to too many viewers. The MSM never has been liberal – it's a fallacy invented and perpetrated by right-wingers. To the right wing, liberal media means that which reports the whole truth, despite how it makes some politicians look. And "fair and balanced" to them means putting forth opposing views to absolutely everything Democrats suggest, most often even if there is no valid "opposing view" — the more outrageous the "opposing view" they put out, and the louder the big mouth stating it, the higher their TV ratings go. It's all entertainment to too many viewers.

]]> By: RandyMandy http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/10/20/how-much-would-it-take-to-endow-nonprofit-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-9901 RandyMandy Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:55:41 +0000 http://www.fair.org/blog/?p=13145#comment-9901 Profits from endowments are not "free money" - profits are stolen from the labors of exploited workers worldwide. It's called capitalism. That surplus value is monetized into profit and then, after finance capital gets its claws on some of it, a remainder would be left for journalists. I can't believe that genuinely progressive and humane journalism for the relatively well-off (i.e., readers of FAIR's blogs) could ever result from such a vampiric relationship with billions of workers. On the other hand, a local activist community of 10,000 (out of an overall population of 250,000) could each pay $40 a year and pay 5 or 6 people to blog on matters related to their town. With some volunteer part-time help, you can have a well-run website or monthly newsletter that keeps us informed in a reasonable way and a local way. It won't be as slick as FAIR and (hopefully) they won't join up with CNN or FOX like Jeff Cohen did, but it will be unglamorously useful to real people. To this day, my favorite source of news is the Dominican laundrymat I go to. My Spanish isn't that great, but it's getting better - and I get the scoop on a lot of stuff from the schools, the police, and the local plantation-hospital that's swallowing up the neighborhood. Others go to church or clubs or activist meetings... these are really useful sources of meaningful, accountable, neighborly information and perspective. Not as clever or researched as the FAIR folks, but in the end - more useful for my life. There should be a place for pro journalists (see the idea above), but a lot of "progressives" are proudly isolated in their smarter-than-thou worlds. That's not just a stereotype - I've been guilty of that for most of my life. Profits from endowments are not "free money" – profits are stolen from the labors of exploited workers worldwide. It's called capitalism. That surplus value is monetized into profit and then, after finance capital gets its claws on some of it, a remainder would be left for journalists. I can't believe that genuinely progressive and humane journalism for the relatively well-off (i.e., readers of FAIR's blogs) could ever result from such a vampiric relationship with billions of workers. On the other hand, a local activist community of 10,000 (out of an overall population of 250,000) could each pay $40 a year and pay 5 or 6 people to blog on matters related to their town. With some volunteer part-time help, you can have a well-run website or monthly newsletter that keeps us informed in a reasonable way and a local way. It won't be as slick as FAIR and (hopefully) they won't join up with CNN or FOX like Jeff Cohen did, but it will be unglamorously useful to real people.

To this day, my favorite source of news is the Dominican laundrymat I go to. My Spanish isn't that great, but it's getting better – and I get the scoop on a lot of stuff from the schools, the police, and the local plantation-hospital that's swallowing up the neighborhood. Others go to church or clubs or activist meetings… these are really useful sources of meaningful, accountable, neighborly information and perspective. Not as clever or researched as the FAIR folks, but in the end – more useful for my life. There should be a place for pro journalists (see the idea above), but a lot of "progressives" are proudly isolated in their smarter-than-thou worlds. That's not just a stereotype – I've been guilty of that for most of my life.

]]> By: Tom Blandy http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/10/20/how-much-would-it-take-to-endow-nonprofit-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-9882 Tom Blandy Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:33:12 +0000 http://www.fair.org/blog/?p=13145#comment-9882 We're Americans, right? The can-do people. Will is what's needed. I would contribute my little bit to the cause and others would too. Ask me. We're Americans, right? The can-do people. Will is what's needed. I would contribute my little bit to the cause and others would too. Ask me.

]]> By: Richard L Rhoads http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/10/20/how-much-would-it-take-to-endow-nonprofit-journalism/comment-page-1/#comment-9876 Richard L Rhoads Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:20:17 +0000 http://www.fair.org/blog/?p=13145#comment-9876 Does 'endowed' only cover traditional newpapers? I would think there is a great deal of room for inovation if individuals are free to report responsibly in many different venues...blogs, collaborative websites, letters to editors as well as conventional journalistic outlets. Collaborative websites ('wikinews'?) might easily pave the way for trustworthy reportage even without endowments. But some recurrent stipends might certainly lead to again establishing a good feeling in the breast of reporters put off by corporate games. How endowments would be implemented with impartiality is really of more interest than whether it is a winning idea. rm Does 'endowed' only cover traditional newpapers? I would think there is a great deal of room for inovation if individuals are free to report responsibly in many different venues…blogs, collaborative websites, letters to editors as well as conventional journalistic outlets. Collaborative websites ('wikinews'?) might easily pave the way for trustworthy reportage even without endowments. But some recurrent stipends might certainly lead to again establishing a good feeling in the breast of reporters put off by corporate games. How endowments would be implemented with impartiality is really of more interest than whether it is a winning idea. rm

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