Ita

[GWU SMPA Building]

AN URGENT DISCUSSION:

"From Gatekeeper to Information Valet:

Work Plans for Sustaining Journalism"

Wed., May 27, 2009 / 10 a.m.-4 p.m. / The George Washington University / Jack Morton Auditorium / 805 21st Street NW / Washington D.C.

RJI PICTURED

THE RJI VISION

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VIEW PROGRAM / REGISTER NOW / WHO'S PARTICIPATING?

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"We need many news organizations to keep our country strong. We need to help each other. We need to partner, we need to experiment and we need to accept and agree that we will continue, we will not accept failure and we need to keep trying and trying different models until we get it right."

Vivian Schiller, CEO of National Public Radio, March 30, 2009, at the NewsVision Conference.

In a March 16 Time Magazine story about the Project on Excellence in Journalism's 2009 "State of the News Media," report, M.J. Stephey wrote: " . . . (I)f solutions aren't obvious, the report's overall message is: Will the future leaders of journalism please stand up?"

[Jack Morton Auditorium in use]

Setting an agenda for the future of news

Hearings on Capitol Hill . . . new ideas about charging for content . . . services that profoundly affect user privacy . . . huge business loses among icons of American journalism . . . thousands of layoffs.

The news about the news is jarring. Take a day to assess the landscape -- and hear about some ideas and initiatives with the potential to sustain and morph journalism in the service of participatory democracy.

"From Gatekeeper to Information Valet: A Workplan for Sustaining Journalism," is a one-day symposium and idea-generation session . . . a chance to share your best ideas. It's convened by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, (RJI) at the Missouri School of Journalism, in collaboration with The George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs. It's the next step in a process which began Dec. 3-5, 2008, at "Blueprinting the Information Valet Economy," in Columbia, Mo.

We'll convene in the state-of-the-art Jack Morton Auditorium at 805 21st Street NW, in downtown Washington, D.C., two blocks from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop. ALTERNATE VIEW

This participatory event will include a morning briefing on the JTI . . . a strategic overview of news-industry opportunities and challenges . . . and discussion of the origin, vision and promise of the Information Valet Project. You'll also learn about the Journalism Innovation Engine at RJI -- a place, and ideas, around which journalism's supporters can stand up, partner, experiment, leave the gates behind, and begin sharing in a new information commons

After lunch, Dr. Lee Wilkins, professor, Missouri School of Journalism, will unveil and comment on findings from a new national survey of public attitudes toward the sharing of private information via the web; Missouri graduate student Emily Sussman will document and discuss a 14-year history of efforts to "monetize" news and other web content . . . participants will host briefings on key initiatives and technologies . . . and we'll manage one round of breakout sessions to assess what we've learned and consider next steps. Time permitting, we may assemble a discussion panel including experts on Internet privacy, advertising and commerce.

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Lodging reservations

For lodging, you may book a room at the special rate of $189/night, plus tax, at the university-owned George Washington University Inn, 824 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20037. This "Reynolds Journalism Institute" rate is only available up request by telephoning the GWU Inn reservation desk directly at (202) 337-6620. The Inn offers complimentary Internet Access wire or wireless. Its lobby-located Notti Bianche restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (A box lunch on Wednesday, May 27, is included in the symposium schedule and registration fee).

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For more information email Bill Densmore, 2008-2009 Reynolds Fellow, or call 573-882-9812.