News Release

The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy met for the first time on June 24, 2008, to begin its focus on four key themes its work will engage: technology, democracy, economics and how people connect with information.

Following a welcome by Co-Chair Theodore B. Olson, the Commissioners present offered short opening statements, highlighting some of their main concerns and aspirations for the Commission’s work. Executive Director Peter Shane offered an introductory review of the Commission’s origin, mandate, membership, and research plan.

Bryan Alexander, research director of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education, and Michael Wood-Lewis, founder of Front Porch Forum, then offered presentations on the potential for new information and communication technologies to re-engineer community information flow. Mr. Alexander discussed Web 2.0 technologies in general, while Mr. Wood-Lewis explained the mechanics and impact of Front Porch Forum, an initiative now embracing 130 online forums covering the entire metropolitan area of Burlington, VT, which distributes user-generated e-mail newsletters on a neighborhood basis and that has significantly increased local interaction and civic engagement.

Knight Foundation president and Commission ex-officio member, Alberto Ibargüen, wrapped up the morning by reviewing the Commission’s mandate and explaining its role against the backdrop of what the Knight Foundation hopes to achieve in terms of better serving the needs of democracy through news and information.

Over lunch, Vincent Price, Associate Provost and Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, addressed, “Democracy and the Changing Media Landscape.” Mr. Price offered a framework for analyzing the actors and processes involved in community decision making, and assessing how changes in the media could affect community decision making by increasing (or impeding) information exchange among key actors at different stages in the decision making process.

Following lunch, Barbara Cohen, President and Founder of Kannon Consulting, and Jeffrey Stevenson, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Veronis Suhler Stevenson, led a discussion of “Economic Sustainability and the Future of Media.” Ms. Cohen analyzed the economic pressures facing legacy media, and described several key factors she believes will drive new business models. Mr. Stevenson presented a wide variety of data putting the economic performance of media into perspective against the backdrop of the overall U.S. economy in 2007. Among his conclusions are that media consumption is growing, but the nature of content and distribution, as well as patterns of use are changing, with more and more media consumption driven by consumer choice.

In a final panel, Jon Wilkins of McKinsey and Co., presented some of his current research into new patterns of consumer behavior regarding digital media. He suggested that news consumers fall within recognizably different patterns of consumer behavior, correlating with different attitudes for news. The typical online news consumer has a preference for aggregated news, makes multiple daily visits to news sites, cares as much for immediacy and ease of access as other indicia of quality, and uses “search” extensively to find news online. Beverley Wheeler, currently executive director of the District of Columbia State Board of Education, discussed connecting people with information from the perspective of city government, relating her experience in directing former Mayor Williams’ Citizen Summits and Neighborhood Action Program, intended to foster trust, communication, and collaboration between city residents and government decision-makers.

The Commissioners concluded their day with a discussion of some of the key issues presented that will need to be the subject of deliberation at future meetings.