SalemNews.com : Blogs : The Full Nelson

That’s the title of a new book by former New York Times reporter Alex S. Jones, now director of Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.
He’s optimistic about the future of newspapers even in the Internet age. Who else, he asks, will perform the watchdog role so critical to democracy? A couple of excerpts:
“There is a great deal that powerful people and institutions seek to keep hidden, and far more that would be hidden were it not for the vigilance of a watchdog press corps. Indeed, far too much goes unwatched and unreported as it is; the act of saving the news should, in fact, include a goad and prod to news organizations to be more rigorous.”
And this, “But man of s find newspapers a warm and comfortable medium, and as such, able to command a sustainable audience, just as books have done. There is a sensal pleasure and satisfaction to reading a newspaper while sipping a morning coffee that I believe will prove as enduring as the quiet solace of a martini in a chilled glass.”
Recommended reading for journalists and anyone else concerned with the industrys survival.