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MEDIA ALERT
Contact: Erin Silliman
AspenInstitute
P:(202) 736-5818; C: (614) 286-6501
Email: erin.silliman@aspeninstitute.org
Click here to watch the webcast.
Click here to view the Community Forum Agenda.
COMMUNITY FORUM OPEN TO THE PUBLIC EXPLORES "MEETING THE PUBLIC'S INFORMATION NEEDS IN SILICON VALLEY"
Silicon Valley Leaders in Governance, Media, and Civic Activism Offer Insights to the Knight Commissionon the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy
WHAT:
Are Silicon Valley citizens getting the information they need in order to solve community problems, coordinate civic activity, maintain public accountability, and foster the human connectedness that is the backbone of both community and democracy?
The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy (www.knightcomm.org) is conducting a year long study to identify the information needs ofcommunities in a democracy, assess how and whether those needs are being met, and recommend steps to improve the fulfillment of those needs.
In addition to reviewing research on information access and trends, including media developments, new technology, and innovations in civic and government communication, the Commission is soliciting testimony from national experts and holding community forums to hear from local citizens and practitioners about the "information ecosystems" in their communities.
The Commission will issue a report in 2009 offering recommendations for achieving the news and information environment that democratic communities need in order to thrive.
WHO:
Roundtable contributors offering informed perspectives include:
- Jim Bettinger, Director, John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists, Stanford University
- Chava Bustamante, Staff Coordinator, SEIU Local 1877
- Emmett Carson, CEO and President, Community Foundation of Silicon Valley
- Muhammed Chaudhry, President and CEO, Silicon Valley Education Foundation
- Linjun Fan, Albany Today blog
- Matt Hammer, Executive Director, People Acting in Community Together
- Raj Jayadev, Founder, Silicon Valley De-Bug
- Mike McGuire, Research Vice President, Gartner
- Chris O'Brien, Project Manager, The Next Newsroom Project, Economics Reporter and Columnist, San Jose Mercury News
- Kim Walesh, Chief Strategist, City of San Jose, CA
WHEN: Monday, September 8, 9AM-5PM
WHERE: Google Headquarters, Building 43, Tunis Room, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California. Click here for an interactive map.
RSVP: Members of the media and public who wish to attend MUST RSVP no later than September 5, 2008 with name and affiliation. Email: erin.silliman@aspeninstitute.org or call (202) 736-5818.
WEBCAST: The meeting will be webcast live and available for future viewing on
www.knightcomm.org.
BACKGROUND:
The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy is a 15-member commission assembled to recommend both publicand private measures that would help American communities better meet their information needs. The Commission’s research-based approach examines the following three questions: What are the information needs of communities in our American democracy? What are the current trends affecting how community information needs are met? And what changes will ensure that community information needs will be better met in the future?
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on ideas and projects that create transformational change. Nearly 20 years ago, the Knight Foundation created the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. That first Knight Commission has helped restore intercollegiate athletics to the control of university presidents.
The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Its seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River near the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership initiativesin Africa, Central America, and India. The Communications and Society Program is one of 21 policy programs at the Aspen Institute. It addresses the societal and democratic impact of the communications and information sectors.
