How Does Everyone Feel About ‘The Reconstruction Of American Journalism?’

The Reconstruction of American Journalism by Leonard Downie Jr (former WaPo executive editor until last year) and Michael Schudson (sociologist studying journalism) has made quite a splash in the blogosphere.

It proposes to maintain journalism as we know it through a nonprofit model—through grants, private donations, etc. It suggests that public broadcasting shift its focus to cover more local news. And it suggests that FCC fees go into an endowment for news, similar to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Matt Slocum at Nieman Lab called the paper a “welcome palate cleanser.”

Lots have called the report “mile-wide, inch-deep.”

Michelle McLellan at The Knight Foundation said the report’s suggestions “fall well short of the impressive build up.”

Have you read the thing? Are you convinced?

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