Knight Commission Presentation to the

League of Women Voters Convention 2010

Workshop on Informing Communities: Sustaining
Citizen Participation in the Digital Age
Charles M. Firestone
Executive Director
Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program
Atlanta, Georgia

June 4, 2010
 A project of

John S. and James L.

Knight Foundation

and the

Aspen Institute
Communications & Society
Program
 Commissioners
• Theodore B. Olson, Co-Chair, former Solicitor General of the U.S.
• Marissa Mayer, Co-Chair, VP, Search & User Experience, Google
• danah boyd, researcher, now with Microsoft Research Lab
• John S. Carroll, former editor, Los Angeles Times
• Robert W. Decherd, CEO, A.H. Belo newspaper chain
• Reed E. Hundt, former Chairman, FCC (Clinton Admin)
• Benjamin Todd Jealous, President, NAACP
• Mary E. Junck, CEO, Lee Enterprises newspaper chain
• Monica Lozano, SVP, ImpreMedia, Publisher & CEO, La Opinión
• Lisa MacCallum, Managing Director, Nike Foundation
• Andrew Mooney, Executive Director, LISC, Chicago
• Donna D. Nicely, Director, Nashville Public Library
• Michael K. Powell, former Chairman, FCC (Bush Admin)
• Rey Ramsey, CEO, One Economy
• Paul Sagan, CEO, Akamai
• Alberto Ibargüen, ex officio, CEO, Knight Foundation
• Walter Isaacson, ex officio, CEO, Aspen Institute
 Approach
• As we face a news media crisis, what are the news
and information needs of local communities?
What should be done to meet them?

• The Commission looked at the local geographical

community as that is still the focus of political
decisions and community life.

• Vision of “informed communities.”

 Informed Communities

• Communities need information to coordinate, solve

problems, establish public accountability, and
develop a sense of connectedness.

• “Information is as vital to the healthy functioning

of communities as clean air, safe streets, good
schools and public health.”

• Information ecologies serve personal as well as civic

information needs.
 Healthy Informed Communities
(Appendix I)
• A majority of government information and
services online, accessible through a central and
easy to use portal

• A local government with a committed policy on

transparency

• Quality journalism through local newspapers,

local television and radio stations, and online
sources
 Healthy Informed Communities
(Appendix I)

• Citizens with effective opportunities to have their

voices heard and to affect public policy

• A vibrant public library, or other public center for

information that provides digital resources and
professional assistance
 Healthy Informed Communities
(Appendix I)
• Ready access to information that enhances quality of
life, including information provided by trusted
intermediary organizations in the community on a
variety of subjects

• Local schools have computer and high speed Internet

access, as well as curricula that support digital and
media literacy

• High speed Internet is available to all

 Objectives

Envisions the need to:

• Maximize the availability of credible information,

• Enhance the information capacity of individuals,

and
• Promote civic engagement.
 Objective I Findings
Maximizing the Availability of
Relevant and Credible Information
People need relevant and credible information
to be free and self-governing.

• The current financial challenges facing private news media could

pose a crisis for democracy.

• Public media should provide better local news and information.

• Not-for-profit and non-traditional media can be important

sources of journalism.

• Public information belongs to the public. Government must be

more open.

• Informed communities can measure their information health.

 Objective I
Maximizing the Availability of
Relevant and Credible Information

• Recommendation 1: Direct media policy

toward innovation, competition, and support
for business models that provide marketplace
incentives for quality journalism.
 Objective I
Maximizing the Availability of
Relevant and Credible Information

• Recommendation 2: Increase support for

public service media aimed at meeting
community information needs.

• Public broadcasting needs to move quickly toward a

broader vision of public service media, one that is more
local, more inclusive, and more interactive.

• Greater integration of new technologies and

communication practices with traditional forms of
broadcasting.
 Objective I
Maximizing the Availability of
Relevant and Credible Information

• Recommendation 3: Increase the role of higher

education, community and nonprofit
institutions as hubs of journalistic activity and
other information-sharing for local
communities.
 Objective I
Maximizing the Availability of
Relevant and Credible Information

• Recommendation 4: Require government at all

levels to operate transparently, facilitate easy
and low-cost access to public records, and
make civic and social data available in
standardized formats that support the
productive public use of such data.
• Open Government Laws: employees and contractors
should apply more vigorously

• Transparency: electronic participation; tracking of

legislation with opportunities to comment on all drafts;
cameras in the courts.
 Objective I
Maximizing the Availability of
Relevant and Credible Information

• Recommendation 5: Develop systematic

quality measures of community information
ecologies, and study how they affect social
outcomes.

Combined with Appendix I of the Report, this

could lead to community self assessments,
perhaps led by an independent local entity.
 Objective II Findings
Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals
People need tools, skills, and understanding
to use information effectively.

• All people have a right to be fully informed.

– “There need be no second-class citizens in informed
communities.”

• Funding to meet this goal is an investment in the

nation’s future.

• Americans cannot compete globally without new

public policies and investment in technology.
 Objective II
Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals

• Recommendation 6: Integrate digital and

media literacy as critical elements for
education at all levels through collaboration
among federal, state, and local education
officials.
 Objective II
Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals

• Recommendation 7: Fund and support public

libraries and other community institutions as
centers of digital and media training, especially
for adults.
 Objective II
Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals

• Recommendation 8: Set ambitious standards

for nationwide broadband availability and
adopt public policies encouraging consumer
demand for broadband services. 
 Objective II
Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals

• Recommendation 9: Maintain the national

commitment to open networks as a core
objective of Internet policy.
 Objective II
Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals

• Recommendation 10: Support the activities of

information providers to reach local audiences
with quality content through all appropriate
media, such as mobile phones, radio, public
access cable, and new platforms.
 Objective III Findings
Promoting Public Engagement
To pursue their true interests, people need to be engaged
with information and with each other.

• Creating informed communities is a task for everyone.

• Young people have a special role in times of great

change.

• Technology can help everyone be part of the

community.

• Everyone should feel a responsibility to participate.

 Objective III
Promoting Public Engagement

• Recommendation 11: Expand local media

initiatives to reflect the full reality of the
communities they represent.
 Objective III
Promoting Public Engagement

• Recommendation 12: Engage young people in

developing the digital information and
communication capacities of local
communities.
 Objective III
Promoting Public Engagement

• Recommendation 13: Empower all citizens to

participate actively in community self-governance,
including local “community summits” to address
community affairs and pursue common goals.

• “Bridging capital”

• Initiate community dialogue with summits directed at

creating community action agendas to improve the
local information environment.
 Objective III
Promoting Public Engagement

• Recommendation 14: Emphasize community

information flow in the design and
enhancement of a local community’s public
spaces.
 Objective III
Promoting Public Engagement

• Recommendation 15: Ensure that every local

community has at least one high-quality online
hub.
 Conclusion

“The information issue is everyone’s issue.”

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