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KN O W L E D G E
How does news shape the way we see the world?
Distorted, bloated, and not representative of what is
happening.
Too oen, Americancommercial news ismyopic and
inwardly focused.
is leads to a severe lack of global news. And increasingly,
a shortage of “enterprise journalism” – journalistic depth
built over time through original sources – that provides the
context and enables thoughtful response.
Too oen, the news sticks to crime, disasters,
infotainment, and horse-race politics. Many important
topics such as education, race and ethnicity, science,
environment, and women and children’s issues are oen
less than 5% of all news combined.
Much of widely-seen online news isn’t better – it’s oen
just re-circulates the same stories.
e result: much of our news can’t be called “knowledge
media” – content that builds insight about our world.
It’s difficult to understand the world, if you haven’t heard
much about it. But we also know many Americans want to
know more.
Storytelling is powerful. It helps us understand, make
choices and can inspire us.
Journalism as we know it is in trouble. e old models
don’t serve us anymore with the content we need. Now is
our chance to make it better.
By investing aggressively and entrepreneurially in the
future of knowledge media – in both journalistic reportage
and in powerful storytelling, we can ensure that people get
the fullest global perspective.e Time is Now.
Alisa Miller is the President & CEO of PRI, Public Radio
International, and her new blog is Global Matters Post. Follow
her on twitter.