We can not continue without folks actively participating in a real civil discourse and expect to get anywhere. Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at NYU has a proposal that coincidentally ties in with something I have started doing and will do more of. It is not a new idea, it actually originated in 1992.
He proposes a single question for campaign coverage. "What do you want the candidates to be discussing as they compete for votes?" I would modify that question for Franklin to be one first asked by Eamon Earls: "What should Franklin look like in 2028?" 2028 would be the 250 anniversary of our founding.
"It’s called a citizens agenda because that’s what it is, a list of action items and declared priorities. What campaign coverage should achieve is serious discussion (among candidates, journalists, campaign observers… and the public) of the stuff on the citizen’s agenda. Election year journalism succeeds, in this model, when it raises awareness, clarity, knowledge and the overall quality of discourse around the various items on the citizen’s agenda. It fails when it permits confusion, ignorance, neglect, demagoguery and silence to prevail on those same items. Truth, fairness, accuracy and non-interference in an outcome that should be determined by voters, not the media: these remain bedrock principles. But there is an agenda here. Journalists should not hesitate to take action on it. They should be clear with themselves and up front with voters about what they’re doing. This isn’t the View from Nowhere."
You can follow the tweet thread here:
'Campaign coverage: the road not taken.' There was a path the American press could have walked, but did not. This alternative way was illuminated as far back as 1992. Our political journalists declined it. And here we are. This thread is that story. 1/
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) November 6, 2018https://twitter.com/jayrosen_nyu/status/1059864337928671233
As an alternative, you can read his blog post with the proposal
http://pressthink.org/2010/08/the-citizens-agenda-in-campaign-coverage/
The 'election collection' can be found here
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/10/election-collection-2018.html
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| Election Information for Nov 2018 |
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