Above: Police investigated the scene of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey. (David Paul Morris/San Francisco Chronicle via Associated Press (Eric Newton, senior adviser to the president at Knight Foundation, delivered this luncheon talk on June 11 at the annual convention of the Investigative Reporters and Editors.) So here we are in a large room with […]
Article · June 13, 2011 by Eric Newton
Over time, we’ve noticed a growing myth about media grant making – that the outcomes aren’t quantifiable, that it doesn’t produce a tangible, measurable impact. In a new report, the International Center for Journalists offers 20 plus reasons to the contrary. That’s how many changes to government policies were brought to bear by the work of fellows. For […]
Article · May 18, 2011 by Eric Newton
Eric Newton World Press Freedom Day Washington, D.C. May 2 Congratulations to the organizers of these World Press Freedom Day events, here in the United States for the first time, and for their theme of: “21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers.” Knight Foundation has invested $100 million this past decade to advance freedom of […]
Article · May 2, 2011 by Eric Newton
Ken Doctor, who writes well about Newsonomics, has taken apart the economics of a single investigative story with this report on the Nieman Lab site. He features a strong California Watch story about how state regulators have routinely failed to enforce earthquake safety laws for public schools, “allowing children and teachers to occupy buildings with structural flaws […]
Article · April 21, 2011 by Eric Newton
With 15,000 journalism jobs cut in recent years, hurting the in-depth local news that helps sustain our democracy, more funders are making journalism and media grants. And many of them attended a Monday morning session on the topic at the Council on Foundations conference in Philadelphia for a robust discussion on the opportunities and challenges of […]
Article · April 12, 2011 by Eric Newton
Eric Newton, senior adviser to the president at Knight Foundation, delivered this talk on April 7, 2011, to more than 300 parents, students and faculty at the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Nebraska. He discussed the excitement and fears of journalists in the age of digital news and the proliferation […]
Article · April 7, 2011 by Eric Newton
Arizona Republic picks up major’News21 transportation safety story over the weekend, starting it on’the front page, with two full pages of coverage inside the newspaper.’ Chilling story of a tour bus operator’who avoids fallout from a’crash that killed passengers and’failed inspections’by’”reincarnating”‘under different company names and continuing to’obtain federal permits to operate. News21, a national university […]
Article · March 30, 2011 by Eric Newton
James L. Knight A year ago, a high level Knight Commission spelled out 15 recommendations for ensuring Americans get the information they need on important issues. Front and center: making sure digital and media literacy are built into education at all levels, from kindergarten through college. Today, we’re pleased’to announce that Queens University of Charlotte […]
Article · September 13, 2010 by Eric Newton
Comments by Eric Newton to journalism educators in Denver to open the Aug. 3, 2010 pre-conference workshop, “Journalism Schools as News Providers: Challenges and Opportunities” “In journalism school they taught me the story was the only thing that mattered. Make a story good enough, it will change the world. Well… A great story can change […]
Article · August 3, 2010 by Eric Newton
For two decades, the Center for Public Integrity has, as one political commentator put it, shown it’s ‘probing flashlight into so many Washington dirty-laundry baskets.’ The result has been best-selling books, dozens of major awards, and changes in public policy and practice. Yet like all other major media organizations at the dawn of the digital […]
Article · July 8, 2010 by Eric Newton
In the age of Twitter, you have to admire this country’s Founding Fathers for their genius in brevity. The mere 45 words that make up the First Amendment guarantee Americans the freedoms that are the cornerstone for American democracy. Yet, only 1 in 25 Americans can name the First Amendment’s five freedoms ‘ and the […]
Article · July 1, 2010 by Eric Newton