Newspapers are folding across the country, and reporters are losing their jobs in record numbers. Media organizations have yet to find a successful revenue model for online news. In short, the news business is in crisis. Many decry the decline of traditional media as a threat to democracy. But others welcome the weakening of the mainstream press as an opportunity for new forms of citizen participation. Truisms about the fate of the press and the future of journalism abound. But what are the real issues? And are the tenets of conventional wisdom about the Fourth Estate, technology, and democracy truly accurate?

This conference is designed to challenge and dissect the fundamental assumptions and biases embedded within the media debate. The goal of the event is to provoke a more thoughtful, nuanced conversation about this pivotal moment in our democracy. The event will bring together journalists, lawyers, scholars, and technologists to analyze and discuss the evolution of journalism into the digital age.