About the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy

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The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy is a group of 17 media, policy and community leaders. Its purpose is to assess the information needs of communities, and recommend measures to help Americans better meet those needs.

The Knight Commission sees new thinking about news and information as a necessary step to sustaining democracy in the digital age. It thus follows in the footsteps of the 1940s Hutchins Commission and the Kerner and Carnegie Commissions of the 1960s.

But in the digital age the stakes are even higher. Technological, economic and behavioral changes are dramatically altering how Americans communicate. Communications systems no longer run along the lines of local communities, and the gap in access to digital tools and skills is wide and troubling.

The Commission seeks to start a national discussion – leading to real action. Its aims are to maximize the availability and flow of credible local information; to enhance access and capacity to use the new tools of knowledge and exchange; and to encourage people to engage with information and each other within their geographic communities.

Comments

Re: About the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of ...

By Anonymous | 11/01/09

good report !... s.o. might be interested in http://eups20.wordpress.com/the-open-declaration
a collaborative document across EU citizens concerned with e-participation and access to informations for individuals and communities to be presented at Malmo EU interministerial conference on e-gov in a few days.

Another good resource

By Anonymous | 10/26/09

Folks might be interested in a new study by The Media Consortium

The Big Thaw: Charting a New Future for Journalism

http://www.themediaconsortium.org/thebigthaw

Read Comments Throughout the Report

By amy.garmer | 10/20/09

We invite you to read all comments posted throughout the report.  Comments appear on a variety of pages -- see the Recent Comments section to the right and the View All Comments button below it to read and reply to the most recent comments.

Favorite Recommendations

By amy.garmer | 10/12/09

Praise for the Knight Commission report, "Informing Communities," from Colin Rhinesmith, the Community Media Coordinator at Cambridge Community Television and an Adjunct Lecturer for the Media and Culture Program at Bentley University. Colin blogged about the report under the heading, "A Few of My Favorite Things."
"For those of us working in community media and technology, the report provides overwhelming support for our field and creative strategies to help us push it forward.
"The report envisions a world where community voices truly matter. It provides residents with opportunities to become more actively engaged in community life through media. It provides parents and educators with thinking about how youth can gain digital and media literacy skills today and into the future. And there is much more to the report."
Colin singles out Recommendations 2, 6, 7 and 11 as among his favorites.  To read the whole blogpost, click here. Which recommendations are your favorites, and why?
 
 

Re: Favorite Recommendations

By Anonymous | 10/22/09

My favorite recommendation is #7: Recommendation 7: Fund and support public libraries and other community institutions as centers of digital and media training, especially for adults.

I think libraries have an important role to play, not only in providing instruction in completing basic computer tasks but in learning to evaluate digital information and linking that information with other resources and librarians' expertise in things like understanding the different departments of the Federal government and their functions so patrons can identify likely sources of needed information.

In our community, our local government has made a significant investment in providing computers for our community in our local community resource centers but haven't seen the need to link these computers to librarians or library resources.

I think linking librarians to computers provides more "bang for the buck" when feasible. After all, we libraries have online databases which could be of use to the community if community members had access to them and knew about them.

Start cooking

By amy.garmer | 10/12/09

From the Twitter conversation #knightcomm:
jcstearns: RT @AspenInstitute RT @knightfdn: Ben Scott / Free Press: #knightcomm report provides the menu, now you have to go into the kitchen.

Local Market Opportunities for Broadband Service Providers

By amy.garmer | 10/07/09

We, too, are hopeful that the Knight Commission report will lead to real change in the quality of broadband services available in the U.S., including deployment of high quality broadband in every community.  Your own experience recalls a comment that Larry Strickling, head of NTIA, made during the panel discussion at the Newseum last Friday. He noted that this is something the private sector in the U.S. should be able to accomplish, but it might require some measure of action or coordination on the part of the public sector to help identify what the market opportunities are. Would be curious to hear comments on how to identify these opportunities in local communities and what role, if any, local government or civic organizations might play.

Covered in the Oct 2 launch?

By Anonymous | 10/09/09

Was this topic debated in the October 2 launch? If so, could you recommend which session we should watch to get more info? Thanks.

Re: Covered in the Oct. 2 launch?

By Anonymous | 10/09/09

Yes -- watch session III, the panel on Access to Information and Skills, moderated by Knight Commissioner Paul Sagan of Akamai.

Limited Internet Service is the US

By mdrambler | 10/04/09
Access to electronic information is extremely critical in this day and age. I live in what some would call a rural area. I’m 30 mile from DC (many people would not consider this rural). Because of this, there is no broadband access available in my area. I’ve resorted to using the only satellite internet provider available. This is an expensive alternative and does not provide adequate broadband access. This service is much slower than a land line service because of the latency involved with satellite transmission. Also, this provider restricts the amount of data that can be downloaded in a 24 hour period. It is so restrictive that I cannot download more than a couple of news video clips during the day. If I exceed the limit, the company punishes me by restricting access to a level equivalent to dial up for 24 hours. I run a home business that relies on the internet. Because of the limited access to the internet, my ability to do business over the internet is restricted. For example, it is nearly impossible to do collaboration over the internet because of the lack of speed and the restrictive download capability. This lack of access is restricting commerce within the US. Even land line options have very restrictive speeds and download capacities. Basically, the US service providers are providing internet speed of a third world country. Speed in countries like France and Germany are at least two times greater than in the US. We should be embarrassed at our lack of technical capability. I sometimes believe that lack of speed and capacity is intentional on the part of the internet servie providers. It is essential for all people to have equal access to the information available on the internet. It is essential that government and businesses realize that many people in the US have inadequate internet service. I hope that this initiative will correct this situation.