A paper by Steven Guanpeng Dong, spring 2010 fellow, takes an in‐depth look at the media policy that altered events that happened in China in 2008 and the impact these events had on the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chinese authorities’ attitude towards the media, especially international press, greatly changed as the […]
A paper by Robert J. Blendon, Sc.D., Shorenstein Center faculty affiliate, and John M. Benson, M.A. analyzes public opinion about the Affordable Care Act, by comparing the public’s response to the Clinton health plan in the final months of the 1994 debate to perceptions about the 2008-2009 reform debate. The report concludes that “Americans’ impressions
The American Public and the Next Phase of the Health Care Reform Debate Read More »
A paper by Marion R. Fremont‐Smith, Shorenstein Center faculty affiliate, examines whether nonprofit, tax‐exempt status might be a feasible option for some newspapers experiencing financial difficulties. Legal precedents, including IRS rulings, dating to the 1960s have held that this was not possible. This paper argues that the economic situation of the newspaper industry warrants reconsideration
Can Nonprofits Save Journalism? Legal Constraints and Opportunities Read More »
A paper by Michael W. Traugott, spring 2009 fellow, details the problematic rise of the “poll of polls,” an average of other organizations’ recent data rather than new information gathered by the news organization itself. This paper reviews how polling has changed in recent decades, compares CNN’s polling from 2004 to its polling in 2008,
A paper by Mitchell Stephens, spring 2009 fellow, argues that as major news events now appear fast and free on Google, Yahoo or a hundred other websites, “stenographic recording” of news events has lost much of its value. Journalists will have to provide something else of use to readers: “wisdom journalism.” Stephens defines wisdom journalism
Beyond News: The Case for Wisdom Journalism Read More »
A paper by Maralee Schwartz, spring 2009 fellow, analyzes the implications of using health news provided by non-profit organizations. Departure of experienced journalists and shrinking budgets for reporting have resulted in a decline in the variety of content newspapers produce – including health care coverage. The launch of The Kaiser Family Foundation’s Kaiser Health News,
Getting it for Free: When Foundations Provide the News on Health Read More »
James O’Shea, spring 2009 fellow, recounts his experience leading the Los Angeles Times from 2006 to 2008, through a period of turmoil, budget cuts, struggling circulation and layoffs. This paper resulted in the book The Deal from Hell: How Moguls and Wall Street Plundered Great American Newspapers. Download the paper (PDF).
Up Against a Saint and a Dead Man Read More »
A paper by Rory O’Connor, fall 2008 fellow, explores the implications of our media and social-media saturated news environment. Although unparalleled information access is empowering, it also presents its own unique set of issues and challenges, both to journalists and to society as a whole. Facing a virtual tsunami of unfiltered information, how can audiences
Word of Mouse: Credibility, Journalism and Emerging Social Media Read More »
A paper by Sandra Nyaira, fall 2008 fellow, analyzes efforts to keep Zimbabweans informed in the wake of the collapse of the country’s media landscape – a part of the ZANU‐PF government’s violent campaign to remain in office. Without private daily newspapers, private, commercial or community radio stations, independent television channels, or access to foreign
Mugabe’s Media War: How New Media Help Zimbabwean Journalists Tell Their Story Read More »
A paper by Eric Pooley, fall 2008 fellow, examines how the media has covered the economics of climate change. This paper follows coverage of the economic debate over Senate Bill 2191, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008, which called for a mandatory declining cap on carbon. Pooley writes that “well-crafted legislation can reduce emissions
The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center dedicated to exploring and illuminating the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice. The Center strives to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public.
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