FFR: Sustaining democracy in a digital age

A powerful new report out by the Knight Commission on the information needs of communities.

Here are the conclusions and recommendations of the report, because even in this shorthand version, I want people to know what is being recommended!

A. Maximizing the Availability of Relevant and Credible Information. People need relevant and credible information to be free and self-governing. The Commission concludes:

• 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. </ul>

  The Commission recommends:

  • Recommendation 1: Direct media policy toward innovation, competition, and support for business models that provide marketplace incentives for quality journalism.
  • Recommendation 2: Increase support for public service media aimed at meeting community information needs.
  • Recommendation 3: Increase the role of higher education, community and nonprofit institutions as hubs of journalistic activity and other information-sharing for local communities.
  • 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.
  • Recommendation 5: Develop systematic quality measures of community information ecologies, and study how they affect social outcomes. </ul>

    B.  Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals: People need tools, skills, and understanding to use information effectively. The Commission concludes:

    • 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. </ul>  

      The Commission recommends:  

      • Recommendation 6: Integrate digital and media literacy as critical elements for education at all levels through collaboration among federal, state, and local education officials.
      • Recommendation 7: Fund and support public libraries and other community institutions as centers of digital and media training, especially for adults.
      • Recommendation 8: Set ambitious standards for nationwide broadband availability and adopt public policies encouraging consumer demand for broadband services.
      • Recommendation 9: Maintain the national commitment to open networks as a core objective of Internet policy.
      • 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. </ul>

        C.  Promoting Public Engagement: To pursue their true interests, people need to be engaged with information and with each other.  

        The Commission concludes:

        • 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. </ul>

          The Commission recommends:  

          • Recommendation 11: Expand local media initiatives to reflect the full reality of the communities they represent.
          • Recommendation 12: Engage young people in developing the digital information and communication capacities of local communities.
          • Recommendation 13: Empower all citizens to participate actively in community self-governance, including local “community summits” to address community affairs and pursue common goals.
          • Recommendation 14: Emphasize community information flow in the design and enhancement of a local community’s public spaces.
          • Recommendation 15: Ensure that every local community has at least one high-quality online hub. </ul>