Ita

This is the temporary home page for the Journalism Trust Association. Please bookmark and return to http://www.journalismtrust.org after April 27, 2009, when more details of the JTA will become public.

A chance to stand up

In a story about the Project on Excellence in Journalism's 2009 "State of the News Media" report, Time Magazine's M.J. Stephey concluded March 16: " . . . [I]f solutions aren't obvious, the report's overall message is: Will the future leaders of journalism please, please stand up?"

A new collaboration -- the Journalism Trust Association

The mission of the Journalism Trust Association is to help sustain, update and enrich the values and purposes of journalism through collaboration with news media, the public and public-focused institutions.

JTA will coordinate the creation of the Information Valet Service, an online ecosystem to re-invent the value newspapers provide to their communities by transforming how content is acquired and exchanged and enabling readers and advertisers to interact on a private, one-to-one basis. By helping newspapers, and other media outlets, turn themselves into vibrant, real-time, always-on 'social networks', the JTA hopes the InfoValet Service will usher in a new era of relevance and prosperity for content providers.

The initial form is likely to be a news-based social network, strongly relevant content, absolute control for users over their demographic and financial data, and a means to share, sell and buy content from multiple sources with a single account. The network will support news content creators by delivering high-value commercial content to end users; and will enable a two-way flow of payments or reward points in consumer accounts.

The JTA is reaching out to a wide array of potential collaborators in order to build this ecosystem; if you and your organization are interested in helping us reinvent the newspaper business, please contact us to find out how.

Symposium planned April 27 at George Washington University

To detail the Journalism Trust Association and explore options for the Information Valet Service, the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, is co-presenting a one-day symposium on Monday, April 27, in collaboration with The George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs. "Blueprinting the Information Valet Economy: The Journalism Trust Association," will convene in the Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st Street NW, in downtown Washington, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The participatory event will open with a briefing by Dr. Lee Wilkins, professor, Missouri School of Journalism, on findings from a national survey of public attitudes toward the sharing of private information via the web; will continue with a briefing about the formation of the Journalism Trust Association; and continue after lunch with a panel and breakout sessions including experts on Internet privacy, advertising and commerce, and founding members and participants in the JTA and the Information Valet Service. For more information email: densmorew@rjionline.org.

Registration available soon

Symposium registration will be available shortly. To inquire about membership in the Journalism Trust Assocation, propose a discussion topic for April 27 or pre-register, please email Bill Densmore, 2008-2009 Reynolds Fellow, or call 573-882-9812.