Home-printed paper tried in 1939

Martin Langeveld doesn't think much of Media News' idea of a home-based device that could print out individualized versions of the newspapers. But he would like to have the walnut-veneered printer that was tried way back in 1939. You can read Langeveld's blog…….

Newspapers search for business model

American Public Media's "Marketplace" interviewed Senior Fellow David Westphal about the problems facing the newspaper industry. The business is in limbo, with no clear version of what the next phase will be, Westphal said. "A lot of people make the good point that the public's demand for news and information has really gone up – not down or stayed the same; it's gone up," he said. "The problem is that there is not … a business model around the next bend that we can look at and say with confidence, 'Oh, I can see where the money's going to come……

Watchdog journalism: Hardly a newspaper afterthought

I've just helped judge a journalism contest for my alma mater, McClatchy, and have a couple of observations to report: First, don't believe those who argue that newspapers' investigative reporting is so minimal that it's easily replaced. It isn't small, and if newspapers couldn't do it anymore, the void would be very deep. Second, high-quality watchdog reporting isn't simply the province of big national players doing "secret prisons" or "secret eavesdropping" stories. It's also the heart and soul of newsrooms across the country that keep watch over their communities and regions. I say these things not primarily to brag about……

State of the Black Union: Young Scholars Forum

In association with USC Annenberg’s Johnson Communication Leadership Center and the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, the Tavis Smiley Foundation presents the Young Scholars Forum as part of the foundation’s 10th annual State of the Black Union symposium. The program, hosted by Tavis Smiley, features remarks by Dean Ernest J. Wilson III and a panel of distinguished contemporary young adult leaders before an audience of outstanding student leaders from high schools and colleges in Southern California. Lunch follows discussion. This event is free, but registration is required. For more information, click here. 8:30 a.m.  – 12 noon. USC Bovard……

The public gets a voice in the ‘future of news’

The media revolution has reached a new and important stage: The American public is being let in on the discussion. In the last two weeks' articles in the New York Times and Time Magazine have helped push the question of "whither news media" before a much bigger audience. I say it's about time. Of course, it's not as if the industry's increasingly dire business outlook has been a secret. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings of the Tribune Co. and the Minneapolis Star Tribune were plenty telling. So was the Detroit newspapers' decision to limit home delivery to three days a……

Public policy and the crisis in the news business

Newspapers are for sale across the country. National Public Radio and television news shows are laying off staff. The Tribune Company is in bankruptcy. It's clear that journalism is in crisis, and in the current recession, things are likely to get much worse. That's alarming. A robust press is vital to our democracy. And while bloggers and other new-media news operations have enriched the public dialogue in important ways, their work still depends on the painstaking – and expensive – reporting supplied by traditional journalists…….

Nonprofit news roundup for Jan. 23, 2009

Philanthropy Journal highlighted a column by Senior Fellow David Westphal on the role of philanthropy in producing quality journalism. For-profit newspapers and nonprofit foundations are not opposed to joining forces to promote innovative reporting, Westphal wrote in his column, which appeared in the Online Journalism Review…….

Inauguration Watch

USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy and the USC Unruh Institute of Politics, invite students, faculty and friends to watch the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Following the ceremony, there will be a discussion on the inaugural speech and the future of Obama’s presidency. Guests TBA. Refreshments will be served. 8:00 a.m. USC Ground Zero Coffee House, 615 Childs Way. Postscript: For information and pictures from this event and others, visit the CCLP Collection on Flickr …….

Free press, with profits

The Los Angeles Times ran an op-ed by Geneva Overholser and CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan about the important role government plays in sustaining serious journalism. "It's clear that journalism is in crisis, and in the current recession, things are likely to get much worse," they wrote. "With a new administration and a new Congress seeking fresh solutions to other crises, we need to consider new possibilities to help ensure that journalism remains able to provide the information needed by a great democracy."……