It seems like every week we hear a story about another newspaper that’s laying off its staff or shutting its doors. Here in Chicago both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times have filed for bankruptcy. Last week the Tribune laid off another 53 people from its editorial staff. Even Congress seems worried about the future of local news.
Senator Bill Cardin of Maryland has proposed legislation that would allow newspapers to restructure as non-profits by receiving a number of tax breaks. But, the news is still widely available and accessible in this country. In many other parts of the world, that is not the case. As part of our series Chicago Matters: Beyond Burnham, today on the show we’ll be talking about the role of the media in a healthy society.
Guests:
Hanke Gratteau- Executive Director, John Howard Association of Illinois, Former Managing Editor, Chicago Tribune
Eric Newton- Vice President for Journalism Program, Knight Foundation
Corina Cepoi- Director of the Independent Journalism Center in Moldova
Kissule Magala- Ugandan journalist, Online Editor of Crested Journal.com
Adrian Monck- Head of the Journalism Department at City University London and author of a commentary on the media for the Evening Standard.