Media: Second Brookings Education Report As Bad As First One

You know you're in trouble when you start quoting panelists from one of your own recent events on the first page of your report and fail to tell education and media little that they don't already know for several more. You know you're in trouble (with readers at least) when you spend a lot of time interviewing the program officers who funded the project about what they already knew when they sent you out to learn something more.  You know you're in trouble when your "new education media" report omits mention of controversial new developments like The Hechinger Report and ends with a rousing defense of the old media and a handful of generic wish-olutions.  You know you're in trouble when you tout your own organization's pageviews and the total -- 175,000 over 18 months -- is laughably low.

Yes, it's true.  Given the chance to provide some keen insight and new information, this second Brookings report on education media is just as obvious and forgettable as the first one -- nothing that any old blogger couldn't pull together with a bit of web research and a few conversations with some of the usual suspects.  In fact, my guess is that's how it was done. Ostensibly authored by Darrell West, EJ Dionne, and Russ Whitehurst, the real work may well have been done by research assistants Jenny Lu and Michelle Croft who are (I assume) even less experts on education journalism and new media.  Whoever did the work, the lack of expertise shows in the dated examples and obvious conclusions.  In fact, there's the sense that Brookings is phoning in this Gates-funded education series stuff, uninterested in the topic or distracted by others more compelling. Traditional journalism is in trouble.  New models are out there.  No one's sure if they're good enough, or viable long term.  Yeah, we got it.  It's 2010.  How much did Gates pay you to do this?

That being said, there are a couple of worthwhile tidbits and observations scattered here and there, and I hope to learn (and like) more during the event itself.  Report notables include: The upcoming inclusion of EdWeek stories on the AP Wire.  The inclusion of Inside Higher Ed stories in USA Today.  The proliferation of newsletters focused on education (272).  The observations of one Jay Mathews in a blog post slamming the first Brookings report on education news.  The use of Facebook as a news gathering and distribution method. The problem of education coverage including so much non-education news (gangs, health, social issues). Think tanks like Brookings want to get in on the game (or think they already are).  The Chronicle is launching an international edition.  I also enjoyed reading some of the thinking coming out of EdWeek and Inside HigherEd, two outfits that are living and making the new education media world but are often ignored in favor of other darlings.

Comments

[erika]

Interesting. I didn't even hear about the release of this. Not as much fanfare, I guess?

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