New report recommends increased pubcasting funding

Congress should not only increase money to pubcasting but also use its funding mechanism as a possible model to funnel financial support to news operations, according to a new report from the USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Geoffrey Cowan, one of the co-authors, is director of the school's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, as well as a past CPB board member; David Westphal is a longtime print and wire service editor, heading up McClatchy's Washington bureau for more than a decade. They point out the value of pubcasting: "News coverage on public radio and TV has the highest trust ratings of any American media. . . . In short, policymakers have in public broadcasting an almost sure-fire bet for strengthening the quality and scope of news and information." They also suggest any future government funding of news "should be indirect, rather than direct (as it is through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and through participating public radio and television stations)." Read the 20-page report here (PDF).