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THE CHALLENGE
California deserves stellar media coverage that does justice to the state’s prominence in American life – and shines light on decisions made in California that affect the daily life of its populace in fundamental ways. Clearly many media outlets and reporters have made outstanding contributions to coverage of critical issues confronting residents and policy makers alike. But too often coverage falls short in exploring all aspects of major issues such as education, the environment, health care, immigration, and public safety in ways which fully inform the state’s population. The challenge is how to cover California in a way that engages its populace as consumers of news and information, and also promotes greater participation in the democratic process. Another challenge is how best to utilize the "new media" to involve larger numbers of Californians in issues which affect their lives in fundamental ways.

THE PREMISE
The current turmoil in almost all sectors of the media provides unexpected opportunities to initiate a statewide discussion about what can be done to expand the scope and impact of reporting on critical issues affecting the state and its future. Such a discussion would focus on developing new strategies for reporting on California, while also addressing the media's need to attract new readers, listeners, and viewers. The project is based on the premise that multiple strategies will be needed to enhance media coverage of the state that involve both the existing media and new forms of coverage and news dissemination. A major challenge will be how to engage a public that is increasingly disconnected from engagement in public issues and institutions – and has little trust in the integrity of both the electronic and print media. Our goal is not to replicate the work of other organizations or institutions, but rather to build on what has already been done, and to work collaboratively to engage Californians more fully in the public life of the state.

THE PURPOSE
The purpose of the California Media Collaborative is to promote a dialogue among key representatives of the California media with leaders in key California constituencies, including academia, philanthropy and public policy and other non-profit organizations in order to devise and implement new strategies for improved coverage of the state.

 

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