May 09 2009

Bay Area an incubator for changing journalism

by Frank Holland

Senate committee hearings are rarely known for excitement. They’re usually staid affairs marked by dull policy jargon.

But when the hearings involve steroid-enhanced professional athletes or the cathartic excoriation of greedy bankers, congressional testimony becomes high drama.

I hoped for some type of dramatic exchange – or at least some new ideas – from Wednesday’s Senate hearings on the future of American journalism. After all, David Simon, the creator of the hit HBO series The Wire was slated to testify, presumably because he had once worked as a reporter and could lend some star power to the confab.

After 168 minutes of collective lament about newspapers’ economic woes and several restatements of the obvious, the session wrapped up. Senator John Kerry noted that newspapers are becoming “an endangered species.”

Endangered, like the Sulawesi Bear Rat. And yet no one had any particularly constructive ideas for how to save journalism.

That was the bad news.

The good news is this: I believe that journalism is already being saved, and it’s happening right in our back yard.

In many ways, the Bay Area is the epicenter of a burgeoning journalistic renaissance. For every report about newspapers’ demise, there are two or three bright, talented local individuals pioneering creative new ways to keep the news alive.

Instead of wringing their hands in DC, they’re innovating by the Bay.

A quick stroll around the UC Berkeley School of Journalism offers a glimpse at the future of news. Students collaborate on multimedia projects that were unimaginable just five years ago. The school is preparing the reporters of the future for a brave new digital world and providing new storytelling tools to established reporters who were reared on newsprint.

Local projects like Newsdesk.org, the Public Press and Independent Arts and Media are ambitious attempts not only to save journalism as it now exists, but also to expand and bolster its scope and quality. Most important, all three endeavors are linked by a shared dedication to the public interest and by their efforts to engage underserved communities.

It is a mission also shared by Holly Kernan, the architect of KALW’s Public Interest Reporting Project. As the newspaper industry stumbles, staff cuts and reorganizations have left holes in the coverage of local city halls, school boards and other crucial beats. The Public Interest Reporting Project incorporates professional journalists, students and volunteer news gatherers in an effort to help bridge the gap.

Another project generating a lot of buzz is David Cohn’s inspired Spot.Us, which harnesses the power of crowds to raise funds for local investigative reporting. Think “the Barack Obama campaign of journalism,” in which many individuals contribute small amounts to fund big stories. The finished products then find their way into any number of local publications for public consumption. Cohn’s project is gaining traction, and could end up becoming – or leading to the development of – a way to pay for solid reporting.

If there is a common thread among these and many other local journalism projects, it is an energetic willingness to engage the community in the journalistic process.

Many local newspapers are taking steps to reconnect with their communities in new and creative ways as well. The Citizen Editorial Board project, for which this column is written, is one such experiment. By bringing independent, local voices into the editorial pages of 11 Bay Area newspapers, we are enriching the civic dialogue and developing a valuable conduit for community perspectives.

New business models to support quality journalism will undoubtedly arise in the coming months and years. In the interim, we must do our best as to stay informed, which includes speaking up when the information we need begins to diminish.

Congressional hearings alone probably won’t save newspapers, but there are plenty of exceptional people in the Bay Area working to save the news.