Presented by the discipline of Media and Communications and The United States Studies Centre, The University of Sydney

Strengthening the Role of Journalism-Adjacent Institutions in Legitimising News and Information Sources

The challenge of identifying and avoiding false news stories and political influence operations masquerading as news sources continues to grow. Current deliberations increasingly focus on media and digital literacy education as means of better empowering news consumers. While this is certainly part of the solution, it is important to recognize how much more various “journalism adjacent” institutions could be doing to craft a news and information ecosystem in which legitimate news and information is better positioned relative to falsity and political influence operations.

In this presentation, Professor Philip M. Napoli (Duke University) will focus on what a wide range of institutions are doing, not doing – and should be doing – to construct a healthier news and information ecosystem. Specifically, his presentation will focus on actors such as cable/satellite/streaming video distributors, digital platforms, press associations, and government bodies such as the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. As this presentation will illustrate, all of these actors could – and should – be doing much more, within the parameters of their existing authority, on behalf of a news and information ecosystem that effectively serves citizens’ information needs.

Associate Professor David Smith from the United States Studies Centre will be a respondent to Philip’s talk.

Professor Philip M. Napoli is the James R. Shepley Professor of Public Policy, Director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy, and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research for the Sanford School. He also serves as a Docent at the University of Helsinki.

Professor Napoli’s research focuses on media institutions and media regulation and policy. He has provided formal and informal expert testimony on these topics to government bodies such as the U.S. Senate, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Congressional Research Service.

Professor Napoli’s research has received awards from the National Business and Economics Society, the Broadcast Education Association, the International Communication Association and the National Communication Association, and has been cited in a number of government proceedings and reports. His research has been funded by organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Center for American Progress. His current project, funded by the Democracy Fund, is the News Measures Research Project, which focuses on developing new approaches to assessing the health of local journalism ecosystems, in an effort to identify the community characteristics that impact the health of local journalism.

Professor Napoli is a firm believer in engaged scholarship, and has engaged in research consultations and collaborations with a wide range of organizations, including the Federal Communications Commission, the New America Foundation, Free Press, the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council, the Center for Creative Voices in Media, Internews, the American Television Alliance, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. He has been interviewed in media outlets such as the NBC Nightly News, the Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Politico, and National Public Radio.

Professor Napoli is in Sydney as a visiting researcher at The University of Sydney on the Australian Research Council-funded project Valuing News: Aligning Individual, Institutional and Societal Perspectives. He will also be presenting on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 25 June as part of the 74th International Communications Association Annual Conference, at the News Innovation and Futures symposium.

Associate Professor David Smith is jointly appointed between the United States Studies Centre and the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on religion and politics in the United States, as well as in Australia and the United Kingdom. He is a regular commentator on American politics in the Australian media, and his work has appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post.

This event will also be streamed via Zoom. Link will be provided upon registration.