Alexandria, VA – Jason Stverak, President of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a national nonprofit journalism organization, released the following statement regarding the FCC’s report titled, “The Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age.” The Franklin Center maintains local news operations in more than 40 states.
“The FCC’s report hits at the heart of the problem facing the journalism industry. It comes as no surprise that journalism and traditional news businesses are struggling. And while they lay off staff and fail to meet the needs of the public, Americans are demanding more government transparency and the exposure of waste, fraud and abuse. The abuse of political power is endless without the presence of good, local, investigative reporters willing to allocate the time to expose the truth. The cure for a dishonest politician is a dedicated and persistent reporter.
The Franklin Center was established as a direct response to this decline in local news coverage. We are one of the nonprofit organizations working to fill the void in state-based news coverage. By networking with state capitol reporters and investigative reporters in more than 40 states, the Franklin Center is helping cover the daily happenings of local and state government and holding elected and public officials accountable to the people. We hope that more organizations hear the urgent calling of this FCC report and begin producing local news content.”
**Note – To set up an interview with Franklin Center President Jason Stverak please contact Meghan Tisinger at Meghan.Tisinger@FranklinCenterHQ.org or 202-680-9023.
