Stores Sought to Host Reporters' Talks on Internet Journalism

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), is co-sponsoring a new program that will bring reporters to bookstores around the country to discuss how the Internet is changing the practice of journalism. "The growth of the Internet is one of the greatest advances in the history of free speech, but it has also created problems for both citizen journalists and the traditional media," said ABFFE President Chris Finan. "The reporter programs will give bookstores an opportunity to make themselves venues for the important discussion of what lies ahead for American journalism."

This third in a series of reporter programs sponsored by ABFFE and the MLRC Institute, a not-for-profit educational organization focused on the media and the First Amendment, will explore the changing nature of the news business and strive to answer the questions: Has the Internet improved journalism or provided a new forum for disinformation? Are bloggers really journalists? Should they receive the same legal protections that have been traditionally reserved for reporters working for newspapers, radio, and television?

ABFFE is seeking bookstores interested in hosting a reporter. Once a store volunteers, the MLRC Institute contacts a media attorney in the area. The attorney then recruits a local reporter and participates in the program to help provide the legal background for the discussion. These talks are part of the MLRC Institute's First Amendment Speakers Bureau, which was created in 2005 to educate the public about the First Amendment. Development of the Speakers Bureau has been funded by a grant from the McCormick Foundation.

In 2006 and again this year, the reporter programs have focused on the importance of confidential sources to the business of producing newspapers as well as books. Seventeen bookstores participated during the first year, and another 16 are holding events in 2008. (Read more.)

Booksellers who are interested in participating in the reporter program should e-mail Finan at [email protected] or call (212) 587-4025, ext. 15.