Inside PBS Blog

In today's media environment - with so many newspapers cutting back on editorial staff and online media becoming more ever-present by the day - what is the best way to get communities the information they need?

The Knight Foundation, an Engage funder, has been exploring these same issues, and last year convened the "Knight Commission on Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy."  The commission includes a variety of news and media experts, from Ted Olson, former Solicitor General of the United States, to Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience at Google, and social activist Danah Boyd.  The commission will release its findings and recommendations in a report later this year.  In the meantime it has released a draft introduction to the report for public review.

The commission also wants to hear from you about your information needs, and has teamed up with Engage to help gather input.

So how can you get involved?  Simple.  I want to know how you get information about your community.

• Where do you get your local news? 
• Do you think everyone in your community has access to the information they need?
• Is it difficult to find the information you need?  (For example, information about local election issues and candidates, the quality of schools, social services, tax assessments, etc.)
• Local newspapers have always been a major source for information about local issues, but as traditional forms of media change (and in some cases, close shop), how can communities improve public access to the information people need?

Leave your thoughts below, through May 8. For more on these issues, look for a post on community news blog Idea Lab and a follow-up on MediaShift during week of April 27.

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