Fake News Won’t Kill Democracy

Digital Journalism Is Challenging Journalists and Society, but There Are Reasons to Be Hopeful for the Future

The world now confronts a bitter irony: the democratization of information has proven not to be all that good for democracy.

That provocative observation, offered by moderator and Zócalo Public Square executive editor Andrés Martinez, framed a Zócalo/Democracy International event in Donostia-San Sebastián, a coastal city in the Spanish Basque Country.

“Does the Digitization of Journalism Threaten Democracy?” was held in conjunction with the 2016 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, and drew an audience of journalists, democracy scholars, activists, and elections administrators from six continents to the ornate council chamber, the …

By Joe Mathews | November 18, 2016

How the Memory of a Handshake Helps Put Tragedy in Perspective

The Overwhelming Stream of Depressing News From Around the Globe Makes Personal Connections Even More Meaningful

By Gordon Dossett | July 29, 2016

After mass shootings and other random acts of violence, the media responds in patterns all too familiar—heart-breaking accounts of the loss, a search to understand why (as if that answer …

Donald Trump Could Make the Media Great Again

Newsrooms May Be Guilty of Fueling His Rise, but Journalists Can Redeem Themselves by Holding the Mogul Accountable

By Dan Gillmor | March 1, 2016

A few weeks ago, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof weighed in on who is to blame for the poisoning of American politics.

“The G.O.P. Created Donald Trump,” blared the headline. …

I’m Happy Sheldon Adelson Wants to Own a Newspaper

The Ensuing Conflicts of Interest May Be Troubling, But It Sure Beats the Alternative

By Andrés Martinez | January 11, 2016

There is good news and bad news to report from the world of those whose business it is to relay the news. The good news is that the family of …

Austin Beutner’s L.A. Times Was a Blast from the Past

The Recently Ousted Publisher Sought to Turn the Paper Into a Political Institution, Which Has Long Been an American Tradition

By Joe Mathews | October 1, 2015

The most important political campaign in California has died prematurely, and without a proper obituary.

That sad fact speaks volumes about the challenges facing our state’s media. Because the deceased campaign …

How the Mexican-American War Gave Birth to a News-Gathering Institution

The Associated Press Was Built for Speed and Straight Facts

By Valerie S. Komor | September 4, 2015

When Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States during 1831 and 1832, he was struck by the fact that the young republic had no overpowering metropolis, that “the intelligence and …

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