Medill Reports Chicago reports on a recent panel discussion on the future of news and politics at the University of Chicago.
Journalist James Fallows predicted the arrival of “a new economy of the news” at a talk Wednesday evening at the University of Chicago, saying most newspapers now spend more money on paper than editorial operations.
Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine and currently the Robert Vare Nonfiction Writer-in-Residence at the university, led a discussion with Rick Perlstein, a former writer for the Village Voice and the author of “Nixonland,” and Tom Geoghegan, a Chicago-based attorney and magazine writer.
The speakers were optimistic about the growth of media diversity thanks to the Internet. Fallows said bloggers’ independent research and correction of disinformation led to more accurate news coverage of Barack Obama’s health care reform efforts than Bill Clinton’s proposals in the 1990s received.
Legislation is well-suited to coverage by blog, Perlstein argued, since it evolves slowly over time, with amendments, debates and committee votes coming over a period of days or weeks.
