Those of you who are still checking this blog – I am still alive, and will re-emerge in August. In the meantime, things are happening. Some of you will know that I am involved with Swinburne University in a couple of experimental projects seeking new ways forward for journalism. A media release about one of them is attached below. This news should break in Crikey later today.
Note that we are looking for board nominations. Please pass this on through your networks.
1 June 2009
For immediate release
New foundation to support public interest journalism
Swinburne University’s Institute for Social Research has established a not-for-profit foundation to help develop new models for funding and supporting journalism.
The Foundation for Public Interest Journalism will bring together journalists, publishers, academics and community representatives to develop and test the new models.
The institute’s director, professor Julian Thomas, has called for suitably qualified and experienced people from any of these sectors to nominate for membership of the foundation’s board.
Nominations should include a 500-word statement about the applicant’s relevant experience and what they can offer the foundation. They must be received by close of business on Tuesday 30 June.
Dr Margaret Simons, a journalist, author and lecturer at Swinburne, said the foundation was being developed because of concerns about the impact of the global collapse of the business models supporting traditional media forms.
“This is a serious threat to journalism, and therefore to the health of our society,” she said.
“We will be seeking support from philanthropic organisations and individuals who appreciate the importance of a healthy, active media for our society.”
Donations to the foundation will be tax deductible.
The foundation will support investigative, interactive journalism while exploring ways of making good journalism sustainable in the new media age.
It will fund worthy journalism projects initiated by either members of the public or practising journalists, and is likely to incorporate approaches from similar projects overseas, such as www.spot.us
Projects will be assessed on their capacity to serve the public interest, with priority given to issues that are under-reported by the traditional media.
As well as publishing works of journalism, the foundation will make a major contribution to journalism education and research.
The foundation is the brainchild of a group of journalists and publishers who have been working with Swinburne University over the past year.
It is expected to be operational by the end of 2009.
ENDS
_______________________________________________________
Media contacts:
Professor Julian Thomas
Ph: 03 9214 5466
Mob: 0410 569 457
Email: jthomas@swin.edu.au
Dr Margaret Simons
Ph: 03 6376 8907
Mob: 0411 254 478
Email: msimons@swin.edu.au
4 Comments
Welcome back doctor.
Good luck with that Margaret.! I can’t imagine anyone sponsoring local news stories unless they are exclusive and have an element of high drama. Afterall, isn’t that why we buy news from pundits in the first place?
Don’t get me wrong I totally see the value in a different journalism model, but part of that would have to be re-educating people as to what is intrinsically valuable about news in the first place. I don;t find myself precluded from the debate based on this, but simply interested in more successful offerings that spot.us
Off topic but of interest?
‘So you want a Social License… What is it? What’s it good for? And where can you get one?
The all powerful, very cool. and dare I say it, mystical Social License!
Not everyone can have one. But more about that later.
So what is a Social License?
A Social License gives you permission to comment on subjects that you have no training in but feel your opinions are better than people who’ve studied and researched the area for 10, 12 or even 20 years. So, you might feel strongly about Tasmanian Devils, and with a Social License your views are given equal weight with those of a Professor of Zoology! How cool is that?
What’s a Social License good for?
Aside from the obvious power, you can use it just about however you like. In essence what you say becomes “reality”! Imagine you really hate Gunns. When they say they want to make clean Green electricity with a Biomass Generator your Social License allows you to say “Gunns should leaving saving the Planet to the people who care about it” and get it published in National News Media. That is amazing you say? Well, Gunns doesn’t have a Social License and you have. So even though you know nothing about anything other than feel-good mother-craft statements you’re in there, instant power!
How to get a Social License.
Not everyone can have a Social License. Obviously, you have to be “better”. And that’s the secret to getting a Social License. You have to be special, have special powers and knowledge. But not real knowledge, that’s for intellectuals. The best way to get a Social License is to join a pseudo-political group that’s got a few spare. We’re talking Australian Conservation Foundation, The Greens, The Tasmanian Greens (they have heaps, just lying around), The Wilderness Society etc. But you don’t just get a Social License, you get access to dozens of slightly woolly brained potential sexual partners! Score!
Thank God! It’s great that people are taking these changes seriously. I say bring back QUALITY. The internet is increasing the demand for free and quick bites of information, as a result quality is suffering while the public are drowning in quantity. A balance between quality and entertainment in the media is essential. I find comfort in the fact that investigative and quality journalism has more supporters than just me! And in light of this support I willing concede that my view of the general public as mindless zombies, feeding off tabloid rubbish, is probably untrue : )
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