Internet is #2 news source

A tip of the hat to the Legislative Reference Bureau's blog, First Reading. In a recent post, they link to a press release from the Pew Research Center announcing that the internet has overtaken newspapers as a source of news for the American public.

Television: 70% of Americans receive their news from television, but that number is dropping, down from 74% a year ago.

Internet: 40% of Americans receive their news from the internet, and that number is rising significantly, up from only 24% in 2007.

Newspapers: 35% of Americans receive their news from newspapers, a number that is more or less static, slightly up from 34% in 2007.

Not surprisingly, if you break the numbers down by age, television and the internet are tied at 59% for Americans between the ages of 18-29.

The Future of Statehouse Reporters

The Thicket reports that Statehouse Reporters are an endangered species. In a recent survey of state legislatures, 56% of respondents said that their local newspaper did not maintain a capitol bureau. In the past 10 years, there has been an 11% increase of newspapers using part-time reporters to cover the legislature. Of responding newspapers, 20% have cut their news hole for legislative coverage by 20%. Even though almost of the newspapers responding said that they are devoting the same or more coverage to the legislature, they are doing so with fewer reporters.

The same survey notes that there has been an explosion of bloggers covering the legislature, both as independents or affliated with a newspaper.

The New York Times came out with this story a few days ago about the exodus of statehouse reporters in Albany. While it seems more related to cutting costs than lack of interest, it is distressing to those who believe that journalists should serve as public watchdogs in the seat of power. As a Columbia University School of Journalism dean said, "it deprives journalism of one of its sources of legitimacy: to be that watchdog. And it’s not as if we’re functioning in a transparent environment. People are working hard to conceal stuff.”

Hawaii newspapers do a good job in covering the Legislature; we'd hate to see an exodus of reporters from the capitol, especially during the intense session period from January to May. Right now, The Honolulu Advertiser, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Stephens Media, and the Associated Press all maintain capitol bureaus.

Oregon attempts to define "journalists" for executive sessions

Continuing the discussion on developing a media access policy for state legislatures, the city of Lake Oswego, Oregon had some problems earlier in the year and have come up with this solution. Political blogger Mark Bunster was thrown out of one of the city's executive sessions as a precaution because the city councillors did not have a media policy, and they weren't sure what to do with him. Read the Oregonian story here.

What I found particularly interesting is that Oregon even allows media into their executive sessions. Here, when a committee goes into executive session, the session is closed, usually due to private and/or sensitive matters being discussed. Oregon's policy is that "representatives of the news media are allowed to attend most executive sessions in order to act as 'watchdogs', ensuring that the governing body does not conduct an executive session for a purpose not permitted under the law. While the statu[t]es allow the governing body to 'require' that executive session information not be disclosed (ORS 192.660(4)) they are silent as to what, if any, remedy the governing body has if news media violate this requirement."

Media are not allowed to attend executive sessions that involve labor negotiations.

Now Lake Oswego has proposed the following media policy, still in draft form, that may have other government and legislative bodies within the state following suit. You can read the entire draft policy here. Or, take a look at the following highlights and see if this sounds reasonable to you:

The Oregonian and The Lake Oswego Review are recognized as media organizations without further proof because of their established history.

Other organizations must provide evidence that they are established, such as:

*They are organized and operated to publish, broadcast or disseminate news to the public.
*They ordinarily and regularly report on matters of a nature typically considered and acted upon by the Lake Oswego City Council.
*They are insitutionalized, with multiple personnel with defined roles in an organizational structure.

*They are accountable, meaning...
+They are registered with the Secretary of State's Office,
+Names, addresses and telephone numbers readily available,
+News reports include true name of staff reporter,
+Identifies any outside news source,
+Has established process for any allegation that news staff has violated policy,
+Practices are consistent with SPJ Code of Ethics.

*They are well-established and reports news continuously, at least weekly, and permanently.
*Entity contains at least 25% news content
*They distinguish news contect from advocacy (analysis, commentary and advertising clearly labeled as such.)

Who or what is a journalist?

According to Ed Smith, who has spent 30 years as a newspaperman, the question is about to become obsolete and inconsequential. He wrote a post today on the NSCL blog, The Thicket, on the dilemma of state capitols across the country in determining who is qualified to get press credentials. In particular, should bloggers be allowed access to press boxes and news conferences?

You'd think Mr. Smith, who is currently managing editor of State Legislatures magazine, would side with mainstream journalists, but he looks at the issue in practical terms, and he concludes that there never has been, nor will there ever be, a definition of "journalist". He contends that there is no licensing or board testing involved, and that's the way reporters and editors want it. In the end, journalism is not a profession, but a craft, he writes.

Smith's observation is that a younger generation of reporters find the question moot. They may be hired as a reporter, but chances are they are also being asked to blog, tweet, and take pictures too while they're at it. Accuracy and ethics will always be issues, but defining journalists is headed for the recycling bin.

For further reading, Smith points to an article in the Columbia Journalism Review - The Bigger Tent by Ann Cooper. Cooper's question is Forget Who is a journalist; the important question is, What is journalism? It's an excellent piece for anyone interested in figuring out who belongs under the Big Tent of Journalism. Here's an excerpt:

Access Soon after former radio and wire-service journalist Jim Van Dongen became a spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Safety in 2003, he found himself confronted with press-pass applications from unpaid Internet bloggers and community-radio talk-show hosts. His first reaction: they’re not “legitimate” journalists. His second reaction: we need a definition of who is.

It was Van Dongen’s third reaction that was surprising. After trying out different criteria—journalists write for pay; they do original reporting, not just opinion writing—Van Dongen concluded that none of the criteria worked. In today’s digital world, he says, “essentially, anybody who says he’s a journalist is one.” So this past January, Van Dongen’s office announced that it would no longer issue press passes. “Either we must issue such ID to virtually anyone who asks for it or be placed in the position of deciding who is or is not a legitimate journalist. That is not an appropriate role for a state agency,” the department said in a January 15 news advisory. Though stunning in its symbolism, the New Hampshire decision didn’t have much practical effect; Safety Department press passes were rarely needed, except for access to the state legislature floor.

Nor have other institutions rushed to copy Van Dongen’s response to the credentialing dilemma. In institutional worlds such as government, politics, and business, many in charge of press operations still cast a wary eye at requests from outside mainstream media. It’s not that they’re inundated with applicants; many institutions say blogger requests are still something of a novelty. But they’re not at all sure what to do with someone who doesn’t look like a traditional journalist. Last January, for example, the retail chain Target e-mailed blogger Amy Jussel to say it wouldn’t answer her questions about its ad campaigns because “Target does not participate with non-traditional media outlets.” Meanwhile, the New York Civil Liberties Union went to court in February to force the release of all recent New York Police Department decisions on press-pass requests; the action is aimed at determining whether, as some independent online writers claim, the NYPD denies cards to applicants who don’t work in the journalistic mainstream.