The U.S. Postal Service’s plan to raise mailing rates could present one more damaging blow to community newspapers already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and advertising declines, a trade group says.
Rates on periodicals would increase by more than 8% as of Aug. 29, according to agency filings. The price jump is part of a broad plan pushed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to overhaul mail operations.
The impact of the periodical rate increase is expected to be felt most by small daily and weekly newspapers, as well as rural newspapers, which depend on the Postal Service since they have shifted from using independent contractors for deliveries.
By David Bauder and Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press, July 8, 2021 Read more
WOBURN, MA – The Journalism Education Foundation of New England, a division of the New England Newspaper & Press Association, has announced the recipients of their 2021 scholarships.
This year, $2,500 scholarships will be awarded to four collegiate students: Alison Cross, Monroe, CT; Gillian Follett, Belchertown, MA; Maria Elena Little Endara, Amherst, MA; and Leighah Beausoleil, Webster, MA.
“The committee was impressed by the sheer number of quality applicants this year. In the end, we felt the four scholarship winners were the most deserving. But all of the applicants are to be congratulated for the great work they are doing. It’s encouraging to see the future of journalism. We wish all of the applicant’s success in their educational endeavors and beyond.” – Randy Capitani, President, Journalism Education Foundation of New England
We asked the students how the scholarship will help them while studying journalism, and this is what they had to say:
Alison Cross
“I am so thankful for the JEFNE and NENPA’s support during my time at the University of Connecticut. This scholarship helped fund each year of my education and allowed me to focus on studying and growing my journalism career. Thanks to the JEFNE scholarship, I could take an unpaid internship at my town’s only local news source, write for my school’s paper, and expand my skills outside of the classroom.
This summer, I am pursuing my passion for investigative reporting as the Connecticut Health Investigative Team’s (c-hit.org) lead writer for “Generation Health,” a new section featuring in-depth articles on health issues affecting 18 to 40-year-olds. In the spring of 2022, I will graduate a year early with a bachelor’s in journalism and sociology and a minor in women’s gender and sexuality studies. After graduation, I hope to start my professional career as an investigative journalist.
I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the generosity of the NENPA and their commitment to inspiring the next generation of reporters. Their work is truly important, and I am so honored to have won this award.”
Leighah Beausoleil
“This scholarship means so much to me and my pursuits toward becoming a journalist. This upcoming academic year I will be taking on the role of Associate Editor at my university’s independent student newspaper, The Gatepost.
Having this scholarship greatly relieves the stress of finances as I am paying for school on my own. This will allow me to focus on completing school and gaining the experiences necessary for a career in journalism.
Being recognized for the work I have done as a student journalist is such an honor. I am extremely grateful for being chosen as a recipient.”
Maria Elena Little Endara
“I am so incredibly grateful to the Journalism Education Foundation of New England for selecting me as one of their scholarship recipients.
This scholarship means a lot to me because it will financially allow me to finish my college education at UMass and graduate in the spring of 2023.”
Gillian Follett
“I’m extremely honored and grateful to be chosen as a recipient of this scholarship. As I’m entering my senior year at Syracuse University, the money provided by this scholarship will help fund the final year of my Journalism studies and potentially an internship at a Syracuse news outlet.
With the support of this scholarship, I’ll be able to take my first steps across the line between college and a professional career in Journalism.”
I remember talking to Clark about his early days in advertising. When he started his then-small marketing business, one of his first clients was a fast-food establishment that needed help with an introductory campaign. Although the store manager knew almost nothing about advertising, he understood that it was important.
John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: john@johnfoust.com
According to Clark, three factors drove the advertising strategy: (1) the budget was severely limited, (2) although it was a national brand, the business was new to the market, and (3) a large university was about two miles away.
“In those pre-Internet days, the college market was the store manager’s best option,” Clark said, “and I figured the surest way to reach those students was through the college newspaper. The challenge was to give them a reason to travel two miles for fast-food. I decided to run a series of quarter-page ads, with discount coupons. The price fit the manager’s budget, and the coupons would give him a way to measure results. Each ad had a code number on the coupon, so he would know which days of the week drew more responses.”
When Clark dropped by the store after a few ads ran, the store manager held up a big paper grocery bag which was overflowing with coupons. There was no organization at all, and it was obvious that coupons had been mixed together in the bag. The ads had pulled in some customers, but – even though they had discussed the significance of measuring results – the manager clearly had no interest in following through.
“Unfortunately, that fast-food place didn’t stay open very long,” Clark explained. “For several years after it closed, I wondered if I could have provided more help. But eventually I came to realize that advertising alone can’t keep a business going. People were willing to try the restaurant once, but the food simply wasn’t good enough to bring them back. The store manager had a gruff personality that may have turned off customers. I also heard that there were staffing problems and issues with state restaurant inspections.”
Although that was a painful experience, it taught Clark some lessons which benefited him in later campaigns. “The first lesson was the importance of a system for clients to track ad responses,” he said. “That can be as simple as a box with folders to organize coupons. Or it can be as sophisticated as a spreadsheet or tracking software.
“The second lesson was to develop a way to capture customer information – at least a name and email address. That can be done with some kind of loyalty program, a requirement to provide information before downloading an online coupon, or an in-person sign-up for future deals.
“The biggest lesson of all,” Clark said, “was the first-hand observation of the power of the consumer’s in-store experience. The ultimate goal is for the customer to see the store as worth a second, third and tenth visit. Experience, not advertising, is the determining factor in customer loyalty.”
(c) Copyright 2021 by John Foust. All rights reserved.
Depending on where you live and work as a journalist, there are two basic levels of importance when it comes to coverage of the agriculture industry: “very important” or “extremely important.”
How and where food is grown or raised, how it is processed and transported, what it costs to buy and how the industry affects the economy and the environment are important to readers, advertisers, agricultural producers and policymakers.
And yet, mostly due to cutbacks, agricultural coverage has been reduced or even eliminated by many traditional media outlets.
Specialty agricultural publications still do yeoman’s work in covering the industry, but their reach beyond the industry core is limited and the news is often presented from the perspective of an industry insider.
Every journalist has the opportunity, and some might say the imperative, to cover agriculture and the vast range of news topics associated with it.
Here are some tips to start or expand your coverage of agriculture.
— Start small, then go in-depth. Take on a weather story or farmer profile to break in, then go deeper as your skills and confidence build. Do not be intimidated; most farmers want to share stories about their lives and work.
— Read widely to get story ideas. This is true on all beats, but keeping your eyes and mind open to ideas is especially important about a complex industry such as agriculture. Subscribe or go online to scan speciality publications focused on agriculture, then go deeper into topics that may be old hat to industry reporters. Read national stories about the industry and localize them. Talk to government officials who oversee the industry and read reports they or industry groups produce about concerns or issues facing the industry. Visit websites of industry or lobbying organizations.
— Sign up for online bulletins sent regularly by government regulators, industry groups, the National Weather Service, university extension offices or consumer groups. Then read the bulletins and mine for ideas.
— Drive around the countryside with the radio off. Look more closely at farms, ranches and the people who run them. What is new or unusual or special? Seek out industry trends, historical patterns or colorful feature stories worthy of reporting efforts.
— Consider how agriculture affects your own life. Wear your story-idea hat while grocery shopping, while visiting the farmers’ market or while considering the weather and its recent or long-range patterns.
— Once an idea emergences, interview government officials or industry groups for the big-picture outlook, and then ask for names and phone numbers of producers who might be willing to be interviewed by phone or in person. Be aware that some producers may be de facto industry spokespeople, so try also to find local producers on your own. Scouring social media platforms or speciality publication websites can help you find fresh producers to interview.
— Take a two-pronged approach to reporting. First, speak to a variety of sources (especially front-line producers) on the phone. Then, set up a site visit or farm tour to meet producers where they work and live to create opportunities for a deeper understanding of issues, to get great photos, audio or video, and to create opportunities for colorful, detailed writing.
— Think deeply, ask many questions and never assume. Modern agriculture is complicated and high-tech. Be patient and diligent in trying to understand the terminology or concepts involved. Confirm your understanding of a topic with sources so you can present information or processes clearly and accurately to readers.
— Ask tough questions, play devil’s advocate at times and get the other side. Not every agricultural story needs a quote from PETA, but it is important to seek out reasonable sources who question agricultural procedures or ecological impacts. Often, those sources are not anti-agriculture, but mostly want the industry to operate more efficiently and in concert with the earth.
— Prepare well for farm visits. Get clear directions, map your route and show up on time; do not arrive in your Sunday best; be ready for sun, rain or snow; have water or soda; bring a rag or napkins for messes; take written notes while also tape-recording interviews; ask permission before getting close to crops, equipment or livestock; be wary and respectful of animals; take candid photos of farmers in action but get a staged portrait just in case; never be in a hurry.
— Enjoy the writing process. As an agricultural reporter, you have the rare opportunity to bring readers into a world they may never see. Embrace that gift by writing clearly and accurately but with authority, flair and color.
The Freedom Forum is 30 years old this July 4, but in many ways is just getting started in its mission of “fostering First Amendment freedoms for all.”
This column expresses the views of Gene Policinski, senior fellow for the First Amendment, Freedom Forum. He can be reached at gpolicinski@freedomforum.org, or follow him on Twitter at @genefac.
The First Amendment will be 230 years old later this year. Like the Freedom Forum, it is as current as today’s ongoing disputes over free speech on the web, roiling protests in the street, bitter debates over religious rights and anti-discrimination laws and difficult new questions about the role of a free press in the 21st century.
For those uncertain what is even in the First Amendment, the Freedom Forum’s “State of the First Amendment” national surveys since 1997 say you have a lot of company. No more than six percent in any year could name all five freedoms in the amendment. Each year somewhere around one-third of us cannot name any.
In case you are asked, the five freedoms are religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.
For three decades, the Freedom Forum has fostered the public’s knowledge and understanding of our First Amendment freedoms:
REACHING MILLIONS IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND ONLINE
Most publicly, there was the Newseum. One opened in 1997, in Rosslyn, Va., just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, D.C. It closed as construction was under way for its bigger successor. The new Newseum was open from 2008 to 2019 on Pennsylvania Avenue — “America’s Main Street”— halfway between the U.S. Capitol and The White House.
Both Newseums were about all five freedoms, often through the lens of free speech or a free press.
About 11 million people visited the two Newseums, and the hundreds of thousands who toured the spaces each year were amplified many times over online. In just one year, 12 million students and teachers interacted with the Freedom Forum’s online education posts and lesson plans on topics as varied as social justice, media literacy, spotting “fake news” on the web and how we got those five core freedoms — all at no charge.
EDUCATING JOURNALISTS AND TEACHERS
The Freedom Forum has not only helped Americans value the First Amendment and free press, but also worked to make First Amendment education and journalism better. It has produced doctoral programs in journalism and published nonpartisan guidelines on how to teach about religion in public schools — the latter distributed by the Clinton administration to every public school in the nation.
The Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, headquartered at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and now named for its founder, editor and publisher John Seigenthaler, has produced publications, thought leadership, events, concerts, moot court competitions and television programs.
Through grants and guidance, the Freedom Forum helped in the creation of journalism groups representing Black, Native American and Asian American journalists. That commitment to diversity and inclusion in a free press continues today with the Chips Quinn Scholars program (CQS), set up in 1991 to increase the number of people of color in U.S. newsrooms, and the Power Shift Project, established in 2018 to promote newsroom integrity and inclusion.
From international programs that trained journalists in other nations, libraries throughout the former Soviet Union, satellite offices on both coasts and around the world, education initiatives nationwide, two long-running television series and more, the Freedom Forum has advanced the values of the First Amendment.
Explore a behind-the-scenes timeline of 30 years of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all.
THINKING DIFFERENTLY
The Freedom Forum’s work has focused on helping the public know, understand and defend freedoms set out by the First Amendment’s deceptively simple 45 words. Sometimes that work begins with noting that the opening phase “Congress shall make no law abridging …” now means any part of government, be it presidents or mayors, school superintendents or police officers, football coaches or agency administrators.
Relentlessly nonpartisan and apolitical, the foundation has both benefited from that posture — principally, as a convenor of all sides on a variety of issues — and faced criticism when recognizing that the First Amendment protects opposing and objectionable opinions.
The foundation has been prescient at times in its programs. In 1997, Freedom Forum founder Al Neuharth interviewed Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai about Lai’s rags-to-riches-to-newspaper publisher life story and the future of freedom in Hong Kong. Earlier this year, the Freedom Forum saluted Lai as one of its Free Expression Award winners — with Lai in a Chinese prison. Apple Daily was since shut down by a Chinese government ruthlessly backtracking on the city’s promised democratic exceptions to China’s authoritarianism.
Presaging the intense debate today over journalism’s ethics, the Freedom Forum in the mid-1990s launched “Free Press-Fair Press,” a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project that ranged from town meetings to newsroom guides and panel programs in the U.S. and abroad, with multiple spin-off initiatives at the Newseums.
MOVING FORWARD
What is ahead for the Freedom Forum? The First Amendment faces new challenges, particularly claims the “marketplace of ideas” concept, which has underpinned the amendment for 230 years, is outmoded in a global, web-connected world.
Our nation has been here before. In the early years of the republic, some First Amendment freedoms were enforceably denied to women and people of color. The introduction of new technologies — from mass-circulation newspapers to radio, TV and the internet — has produced fearful reactions over how the “new” would and did change society. The inherent conflict produced by the protection of fringe and extreme beliefs, faiths and opinions is not new, but the First Amendment is up to the task. The Freedom Forum’s next focus is to ensure a growing number of Americans grasp the 21st century relevance and importance of the First Amendment.
For 30 years, the Freedom Forum has been a rare voice heard on behalf of hearing all voices. In a competitive, fractured world that is often not an easy or comfortable position for any organization: Friend and guide for all, partisan of none.
But it is the path chosen by the founders of the Freedom Forum, advanced over three decades, and the renewed focus of today’s leadership — all in service of the 45 words of the First Amendment that frame the foundation and what it means to be an American.
Join us to celebrate 30 years of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all at a virtual celebration on Thursday, July 22. Come look back at three decades of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all and ahead at what’s next.
Building trust in local news, finding financial support for journalism and tips and tools for journalists are the themes of this year’s community journalism track at Radically Rural.
The two-day summit, Sept. 22-23, in Keene and online, continues in its fourth year to provide training and guidance for reporters, editors and publishers at small community news operations for as little as $49 online.
Members of the New England Newspaper and Press Association can take advantage of discounted pricing by using the promo code NENPA.
Terrence Williams, president and COO at The Keene Sentinel, recently announced the programming, saying he is enthused by the experts who will be leading three, two-hour sessions this year.
“The Sentinel is a small news organization, like so many others in New England and around the country,” Williams said. “We struggle to find ways to network with other similar newspapers, and so we try to come together each year to discuss opportunities to improve and sustain our community news operations. Radically Rural seeks to build sustainability in several topic areas of interest to small cities and towns, and we think strong community journalism is necessary for any community’s success.”
Started in partnership between The Keene Sentinel and the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, Radically Rural has been recognized nationally and regionally for its innovative approach to resolving local problems and seizing opportunities at the small community level. Last year, due to the pandemic, the conference was moved online with more than 500 registrants. This year, organizers are holding a hybrid event with people attending in person and online. In addition to community journalism, there are track sessions on arts and culture, entrepreneurship, land and community, clean energy, downtowns and healthcare.
Detailed information on how to register and attend, either in person or online, can be found at www.radicallyrural.org
Here’s the program for this year, Williams said:
Building Trust: Measures to secure faith in local journalism – Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m. Speaker: Joy Mayer, director, Trusting News
Mayer, director for Trusting News, founded Trusting News in 2016; she leads a panel discussion on the ways and means local journalists can improve bonds with readers and confidence in the news they produce, all leading to a more trusting readership. Panel: Lynn Walsh, assistant director, Trusting News; Peter Huoppi, director of multimedia, The Day, New London, CT; Crystal Good, founder, Black by God – THE WEST VIRGINIAN
Funding News: Media organizations successfully find philanthropic help for their missions – Sept. 22 at 2:15 p.m. Speaker: Frank Mungeam, chief innovation officer, Local Media Association
A panel of experts provides a road map for crowdfunding, landing grants and the future of philanthropic support of newsrooms. Whether you are a for-profit or nonprofit organization, there are ways to build more community support for journalism. Panel: Blake Kaplan, editor and general manager, Sun Herald, Biloxi, MS; Manuel C. Coppola, publisher, Nogales International, Nogales, AZ; Traci Bauer, vice president, print and digital content, Adams Publishing Group
Crazy Good: Tools to make you a better – and more efficient – journalist – Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. Speaker: Samantha Sunne, freelance investigative journalist and expert on tech and tools, presents the annual “50 Ideas” program.
This is a fast-paced romp through hacks, sources, tech and techniques to make you a better, smarter and savvier reporter and editor.
Williams urged those interested to consider attending in person, noting that all pandemic protocols will be followed and that access to Radically Rural’s CONNECT outdoor networking event Sept. 22 is included in the ticket price.
“CONNECT is a lively fusion of local food, drink and music, and it’s great way to celebrate new friendships or relax among colleagues,” Williams said.
Once again this year the New England Newspaper & Press Association will identify our region’s very best daily, weekly and specialty newspapers, and recognize them with the prestigious “New England Newspaper of the Year” award.
This is a one-of-a-kind competition and is the only distinction in our industry that is judged by the audience members.
New England newspaper readers in each of the six New England states will be appointed to evaluate the entries from a news consumer point of view and decide which deserve the honor of being named “Newspaper of the Year“.
The deadline to submit entries is Friday, July 30, 2021.
Entries are also being accepted for five other prestigious awards
Publick Occurrences Award
This award recognizes individual or team stories, series, spot news coverage, columns or photojournalism that ran in print and/or online. Editors should view this entry as their “very best work of the year.” Learn more
Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award
This award celebrates the accomplishments of someone who, over a sustained period of time, has faithfully served the community for which they are responsible and has played an active, constructive role in contributing to its quality of life. Learn more
Allan B. Rogers Editorial Award
This award recognizes the best editorial on a local subject that ran in New England in the past year. Learn more
New England First Amendment Award
This award will recognize a New England newspaper for its exceptional work in upholding the First Amendment and/or educating the public about it. Learn more
AP Sevellon Brown New England Journalist of the Year
This award is bestowed by the New England Society of News Editors, and it recognizes an individual for producing journalism of distinction in New England this past year. Learn more
The deadline for Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) to be considered for American Journalism Project grants in 2021 is July 12th.
For the rest of this year, AJP is prioritizing providing growth capital to local nonprofit news organizations with a viable plan to dramatically increase the scale of their organizations in pursuit of meeting their communities’ information needs. Organizations seeking grants must have the vision and ambition to grow significantly to become a primary source of local original reporting for their communities. (We recognize that what “primary source” means will vary depending on the local news ecosystem; it can be a collaborative vision, and it must ultimately be rooted in growing to meet the currently unmet critical information needs of the diverse communities in the geographies served.) We are currently prioritizing organizations serving or seeking to serve regions that are either an entire state or a large population area.
Please take a look at our site for more information about our grantmaking criteria, and for the link to our LOI form.
Pulse Research recently launched the next wave of the Pulse of America Shopping intent research survey to help support your sales team and local businesses. It’s an easy, no-cost opportunity for NENPA members to quickly acquire localized next 12-month audience shopping data for over 550 business categories.
Your sales team will use the new shopping information to successfully prospect, secure more appointments and generate far more revenue!
We have recorded a short presentation by Sammy Papert, who has represented Pulse in New England for many years, In it, he goes over how the survey works, how to promote it, the type of shopping data you will have access to for your sales teams, and answer some frequently asked questions.
Respondents will share their intent to purchase across 12 MONTHS. As state-after-state opens up this will provide valuable guidance to customers and prospects and allow newspapers to more easily talk about annual commitments.
All respondents can enter a contest once completing the survey to have a chance to win $5,000. You read that right!
Sending an email works best, followed by an intercept or pop-up, social media posts, and ads in paper and online.
Newspapers that are interested in capturing their own sample will have a unique URL assigned for local respondents. Something like https://www.pulsepoll.com/marketname.
Once the survey is completed Pulse will provide current localized results and send you the survey findings. The results will give your sales team information to connect with prospects and advertisers with information for and about their businesses.
The U.S. Postal Service’s plan to raise mailing rates could present one more damaging blow to community newspapers already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and advertising declines, a trade group says.
For the rest of this year, AJP is prioritizing providing growth capital to local nonprofit news organizations with a viable plan to dramatically increase the scale of their organizations in pursuit of meeting their communities’ information needs. Organizations seeking grants must have the vision and ambition to grow significantly to become a primary source of local original reporting for their communities. (We recognize that what “primary source” means will vary depending on the local news ecosystem; it can be a collaborative vision, and it must ultimately be rooted in growing to meet the currently unmet critical information needs of the diverse communities in the geographies served.) We are currently prioritizing organizations serving or seeking to serve regions that are either an entire state or a large population area.
Freedom Forum Turns 30 Years Old On July 4
The Freedom Forum is 30 years old this July 4, but in many ways is just getting started in its mission of “fostering First Amendment freedoms for all.”
The First Amendment will be 230 years old later this year. Like the Freedom Forum, it is as current as today’s ongoing disputes over free speech on the web, roiling protests in the street, bitter debates over religious rights and anti-discrimination laws and difficult new questions about the role of a free press in the 21st century.
For those uncertain what is even in the First Amendment, the Freedom Forum’s “State of the First Amendment” national surveys since 1997 say you have a lot of company. No more than six percent in any year could name all five freedoms in the amendment. Each year somewhere around one-third of us cannot name any.
In case you are asked, the five freedoms are religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.
For three decades, the Freedom Forum has fostered the public’s knowledge and understanding of our First Amendment freedoms:
REACHING MILLIONS IN WASHINGTON, D.C., AND ONLINE
Most publicly, there was the Newseum. One opened in 1997, in Rosslyn, Va., just across the Potomac River from downtown Washington, D.C. It closed as construction was under way for its bigger successor. The new Newseum was open from 2008 to 2019 on Pennsylvania Avenue — “America’s Main Street”— halfway between the U.S. Capitol and The White House.
Both Newseums were about all five freedoms, often through the lens of free speech or a free press.
About 11 million people visited the two Newseums, and the hundreds of thousands who toured the spaces each year were amplified many times over online. In just one year, 12 million students and teachers interacted with the Freedom Forum’s online education posts and lesson plans on topics as varied as social justice, media literacy, spotting “fake news” on the web and how we got those five core freedoms — all at no charge.
EDUCATING JOURNALISTS AND TEACHERS
The Freedom Forum has not only helped Americans value the First Amendment and free press, but also worked to make First Amendment education and journalism better. It has produced doctoral programs in journalism and published nonpartisan guidelines on how to teach about religion in public schools — the latter distributed by the Clinton administration to every public school in the nation.
The Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center, headquartered at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and now named for its founder, editor and publisher John Seigenthaler, has produced publications, thought leadership, events, concerts, moot court competitions and television programs.
Through grants and guidance, the Freedom Forum helped in the creation of journalism groups representing Black, Native American and Asian American journalists. That commitment to diversity and inclusion in a free press continues today with the Chips Quinn Scholars program (CQS), set up in 1991 to increase the number of people of color in U.S. newsrooms, and the Power Shift Project, established in 2018 to promote newsroom integrity and inclusion.
From international programs that trained journalists in other nations, libraries throughout the former Soviet Union, satellite offices on both coasts and around the world, education initiatives nationwide, two long-running television series and more, the Freedom Forum has advanced the values of the First Amendment.
Explore a behind-the-scenes timeline of 30 years of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all.
THINKING DIFFERENTLY
The Freedom Forum’s work has focused on helping the public know, understand and defend freedoms set out by the First Amendment’s deceptively simple 45 words. Sometimes that work begins with noting that the opening phase “Congress shall make no law abridging …” now means any part of government, be it presidents or mayors, school superintendents or police officers, football coaches or agency administrators.
Relentlessly nonpartisan and apolitical, the foundation has both benefited from that posture — principally, as a convenor of all sides on a variety of issues — and faced criticism when recognizing that the First Amendment protects opposing and objectionable opinions.
The foundation has been prescient at times in its programs. In 1997, Freedom Forum founder Al Neuharth interviewed Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai about Lai’s rags-to-riches-to-newspaper publisher life story and the future of freedom in Hong Kong. Earlier this year, the Freedom Forum saluted Lai as one of its Free Expression Award winners — with Lai in a Chinese prison. Apple Daily was since shut down by a Chinese government ruthlessly backtracking on the city’s promised democratic exceptions to China’s authoritarianism.
Read Al Neuharth’s Feb. 2, 1996, column from USA TODAY on press freedom in Hong Kong.
Presaging the intense debate today over journalism’s ethics, the Freedom Forum in the mid-1990s launched “Free Press-Fair Press,” a multi-year, multi-million-dollar project that ranged from town meetings to newsroom guides and panel programs in the U.S. and abroad, with multiple spin-off initiatives at the Newseums.
MOVING FORWARD
What is ahead for the Freedom Forum? The First Amendment faces new challenges, particularly claims the “marketplace of ideas” concept, which has underpinned the amendment for 230 years, is outmoded in a global, web-connected world.
Foster First Amendment freedoms into the future by joining the 30th Anniversary Circle.
Our nation has been here before. In the early years of the republic, some First Amendment freedoms were enforceably denied to women and people of color. The introduction of new technologies — from mass-circulation newspapers to radio, TV and the internet — has produced fearful reactions over how the “new” would and did change society. The inherent conflict produced by the protection of fringe and extreme beliefs, faiths and opinions is not new, but the First Amendment is up to the task. The Freedom Forum’s next focus is to ensure a growing number of Americans grasp the 21st century relevance and importance of the First Amendment.
For 30 years, the Freedom Forum has been a rare voice heard on behalf of hearing all voices. In a competitive, fractured world that is often not an easy or comfortable position for any organization: Friend and guide for all, partisan of none.
But it is the path chosen by the founders of the Freedom Forum, advanced over three decades, and the renewed focus of today’s leadership — all in service of the 45 words of the First Amendment that frame the foundation and what it means to be an American.
Join us to celebrate 30 years of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all at a virtual celebration on Thursday, July 22. Come look back at three decades of fostering First Amendment freedoms for all and ahead at what’s next.