New Book Exposes 'News for the Rich, White, and Blue'
Professor Nikki Usher, a renowned journalist and academic at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has published a new book titled 'News for the Rich, White, and Blue'. The work explores the market failure of local newspapers in the U.S. and its impact on democracy.
Usher, who holds appointments in both communication and political science, argues that financial pressures force newspapers to rely heavily on wealthy subscribers for survival. This trend, she believes, perpetuates an 'elite democracy' and undermines representative democracy.
Usher proposes offloading basic information gathering to community organizations and institutions. She also suggests that local partisan reporting and leveraging local institutions could serve as potential solutions. Historically, mainstream journalism has favored the status quo and struggled with diversity, catering primarily to wealthy, white, and liberal audiences.
In her book, Usher examines how philanthropy, nonprofits, and public media still rely on those who can pay for news. She notes that the philanthropists often mentioned as better business models for news organizations are primarily tech and media philanthropists from major metropolitan areas like New York City and San Francisco. This reflects the geographic concentrations of media and wealth that influence American journalism.
Professor Nikki Usher's 'News for the Rich, White, and Blue' highlights the market failure of local newspapers and its impact on democracy. Her solutions, including offloading basic information gathering and local partisan reporting, aim to address these issues. The book serves as a critical examination of the current state of journalism and its future.
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