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FCC Commission Remarks at State of the Net Preconference

Commissioner Copps’ Remarks at the State of the Net Preconference of the Congressional Internet Caucus, January 26, 2010:

  • “Our democracy relies on a well-informed citizenry. Right now that means primarily traditional journalism, from newspapers and broadcasting because that’s where 75% or more of the news we get still originates. More people are watching TV than ever and, as the Kaiser Family Foundation told us just last week, the average American kid is watching 4-1/2 hour hours of TV content each day, every day. But everywhere around us are signs that the news and information journalism America relied on for so long is failing us today. The victims, just as much as all those out-of-work journalists, are you and me, because we are increasingly deprived of the news and information nourishment that feeds our decision-making and our democracy. Investigative journalism is, I think most observers agree, an endangered species. In a society where watchdog journalism is absolutely essential, more than two dozen states don’t have a single reporter accredited to cover Capitol Hill. At the state level, legions of lobbyists outnumber professional journalists by orders of magnitude.”
  • New York Times: Salvation (for Newspapers) Is at Hand
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