What's Killing the Newspaper and Who Will Save It?

1,280 views · Published 20 March 2009 · 50:29 · Indexed 27 September 2026

Channel: New America · 2009 · News & Politics

Watch on YouTube

Almost ironically, we read in the newspapers every week that their industry is in crisis.  Newspapers across the country are shuttering overseas bureaus, offering buyouts to dozens (even hundreds) of talented journalists, and in the process imperiling their capacity to serve as vital watchdogs over our constitutional system.  How did we end up in a situation where a newspaper like The Washington Post, a fountainhead of Watergate and so much other skeptical and investigative reporting critical to our republic's health, is in serious jeopardy?  From this predicament a heated debate is underway about the future of journalism--is the answer subscription fees from digital age users and advertisers, philanthropic support through endowments, increased revenues through online advertisers, or some sort of a hybrid?

A panel of industry experts - including Steve Coll, staff writer at the New Yorker, Edward Felsenthal, Managing Editor of The Daily Beast, and Dick Tofel, General Manager at Pro Publica - joined us on March 12th to discuss the answers to these questions and more.

More from this channel