Live blogging "Audiences, Citizens and the Future of Journalism" by Mike Oreskes, Intl Herald Tribune

"The future of journalism is bright," but we must get through today. Then Mike Oreskes began to link up the future of journalism in the context of the future of democracy. There is a large audience, but you need new media delivery models. Do some of the forms the news media take threaten democracy?

Challenge to journalism. Still need to separate wheat and chaff, and just publish the chaff. Today's information overload is our challenge, but could be an opportunity for journalism. How can journalism re-shape the enterprise of journalism to go forward.

Total circ of newspapers around the world is soaring, though it may be down in USA. There is a business model crisis. The overload of information means journalism as a step-down function in the face of too much info, journalism can make sense of what is going on for the public. New business models must be put out.

What is the new role of journalism? Not a conveyor belt -- get out of the way of people to people communication. Journos can study and interpret "with no agenda other than helping audiences understand the world." Journos must recognize the core values of journalism and then make those even clearer in the face of too much info.

Newspaper press freedom associated with income and negatively correlated to government corruption. So, he claims journalism matters materially.

How we face it will have an impact on democracy. Oreskes goes deep into the research he did on his recent book on the consitution and democracy. He puts hyperlocal in juxtaposition with global, with the example of what is going in New York State about drivers' licenses for immigrants.

His take: democracy is having a mid-life crisis. He laid out what democracy was and what it wasn't. Max freedom, min government, was the first try at self-government through democracy (1776-1787) Framers forced debate and pushed compromise and slowed down action to let things be worked out. Are there counter-trends in the Internet? Probably. But the essence of democracy is compromise and not fragmentation and self-involvement which might be what democracy requires. Goes into "verticals" as a business and consumer tool that is necessary for sucess. However, how can journalists build wide "horizontals" and help people get into a "melting pot" as much as get specialized knowledge of things of particular interest.

Oreskes spoke about this: Yahoo's Hilary Schneider's definition of journalism values:
Obligation to truth; loyalty to citizens; discipline of verification; maintain independence; be an independent monitor of power; be a forum for public criticism and compromise; keep news comprehensive and proporational; make the significant interesting and relevant; exercise personal conscience.