MU’s Reynolds Journalism Institute is hosting a symposium Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to discuss trends identified in the Federal Communications Commission’s report “Information Needs Communities.”
The FCC’s report, delivered June 9, discussed the “changing media landscape in a broadband age” and that local journalism is in a state of crisis due to the downfall of newspapers and online media’s failure to replace lost accountability reporting.
Leading factors in the report included a dearth of government advertising money, lack of philanthropic support and journalism schools’ difficulty with the production of local news.
The keynote speaker for the symposium is former FCC adviser Steven Waldman, co-founder of the spirituality website Beliefnet.
Waldman’s points in the FCC report include the necessity of universal broadband access and how it is an important component of media innovation.
Waldman also said broadband access would serve the watchdog function of journalism by increasing government accountability and encouraging innovation in local media.
MU is part of Gig.U, a consortium of leading research universities including the University of Oklahoma and the University of Chicago.
Gig.U’s website states it is committed to accelerating the development of high-speed Internet networks at American universities and their communities.
The website also states the network improvements “drive economic growth” and “stimulate a new generation of innovations addressing critical needs, such as health care and education.”
The benefits of ultra-high-speed internet to MU and Columbia would include helping researchers communicate with colleagues around the world, giving students access to knowledge and helping businesses “enhance their success,” according to an MU news release.
“(MU) is taking a proactive role in this digital age of information,” Amy McCombs, the Lee Hills Chairwoman in Free Press Studies at the School of Journalism, said in the release. “The accessibility of accountability journalism is vital to our society.”