Journalism That Affects Community and Democracy

As Patch careens ahead, forging its own path in the wake of print journalism's demise, there are certain questions which all media outlets must put to mind: what are their individual purposes, who (and how) do they serve, and what lies ahead are a few of those questions.

The Massachussetts Institute of Technology is no stranger to these questions, and in an effort to answer them, is hosting a premiere event entitled "BEYOND BOOKS: News, Literacy, Democracy and America's Libraries: A Work Session for Journalists, Librarians and Citizens." This two-day event (April 6-7), meant to explore the space where the media and libraries intersect, is a combined effort of Journalism That Matters, LLAMA, the Office of Information Technology Policy of the American Library Association, the MIT Center for Future Civic Media, the Media Giraffe Project at UMass Amherst, the New England News Forum, the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Cambridge Public Library.

Bill Densmore, Director and Editor of The Media Giraffe Project and Journalism Program at the University of Massachusetts, explained in a prepared statement that "Libraries and legacy media have always shared a common purpose -- helping us acquire the information we need to be engaged, informed (and entertained) citizens. They used different tools - newspapers, broadcast stations and books. Now the tools are converging - web search, data taxonomies, database creation and analysis, social networks - as librarians and journalists together foster civic literacy and engagement."

Densmore sees both journalism and libraries as resources for meant to serve the community and democracy itself. "Librarians want to expand public access to accurate information, including trustworthy local news. So do journalists."

In that vein, the conference will ask "how do we expand libraries as community information centers beyond books - perhaps even beyond their four walls - facilitating and engaging with journalists? What can libraries and journalists do - together - to foster improved access to community information?

While Massachussetts is across the country, attending this conference is possible. Traveling/lodging expenses are available to graduate student in library or information science, technologists and journalists. To apply, register and choose the "request stipend" option.

For more information, click here or call Bill Densmore at the the New England News Forum, 413-458-8001.