Part 1: ‘The Future of Journalism, the Fate of Democracy’

Here is the video of the June 8 discussion about the critical role of local journalism to a democracy.

The event featured:

• Penny Abernathy, visiting professor at the Medill School and Knight chair in digital media economics at UNC-Chapel Hill
• Greg Moore, partner and editor-in-chief of Deke.News
• Karen Rundlet, director of the Journalism Program at the Knight Foundation
• Margaret Sullivan, media columnist at The Washington Post

Phoebe Stein, president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, moderated the discussion.

The discussion was hosted by Virginia Humanities in partnership with other organizations, including the SPJ Virginia Pro Chapter.

This program was part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

A follow-up discussion will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on June 22. The panelists, moderated by Rundlet, will include:

• Betsy Edwards, executive director of the Virginia Press Association
• Courtney Hurtt, program manager, NewsMatch at Institute for Nonprofit News
• Alan Miller, founder and CEO of the News Literacy Project
• Christopher Tyree, executive director of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism
• Steve Waldman, president and co-founder of Report for America

Like the June 8 discussion, the June 22 event is free, but registration is required. The discussion again will be held via Zoom. It also will be streamed live to Facebook.

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Publications and resources mentioned during June 8 event

Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy by Margaret Sullivan 

News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive? 2020 report by Penelope Muse Abernathy 

About Deke Digital 

The Knight Foundation’s focus on journalism 

About The Federation of State Humanities Councils 

Two books about policing in Baltimore: 

I Got A Monster by Baynard Woods and Brandon Soderberg 

We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption by Justin Fenton 

Democracy and the Informed Citizen project examples in other states from other State Humanities Councils: 

Georgia – Media Literacy Project 

California – Journalism fellowships for community college students 

Louisiana – Exploring the relationship between the media and African American/Afro Creole experiences of citizenship and civil rights 

Nonprofit journalism examples: 

Report for America 

The Texas Tribune 

The City Bureau in Chicago 

Spotlight PA 

Reynolds Trust grant Penny mentioned: 

Reynolds Trust supporting local news startup in southeast N.C.