PressEthic

Even as print publications grapple with how to profit (or simply no lose money) from an increasing online readership, and while browsing internet news sources is still largely “free,” for a large segment of the U.S. population, there are still immense economic barriers to widespread internet use.

A recent report published jointly by Free Press, the Consumers Union, and the Consumer Federation of America found that:

The United States has the fourth-highest level of students who have never used a computer among OECD nations — exceeded only by Turkey, Slovakia and Mexico.

And that:

The most important factors explaining the digital divide among nations are household income and poverty.

In the report’s introduction, author S. Derek Turner said:

With every passing month, the United States falls further behind the global leaders in broadband Internet access thanks to a combination of market and policy failures. Our markets lack the competition to bring lower prices, higher speeds, and universal access. Our policies lack the imagination and potency to create real change.

Meanwhile, Americans pay more money for less service than a dozen other nations. A third of U.S households are still stuck with dial-up, and another third lack Internet access of any kind. Our broadband problem is becoming a crisis.

So while some internet enthusiasts gleefully predict the imminent demise of the “anachronistic” newspaper, low-income families are largely excluded from accessing online resources.

The persistence of the digital divide should turn our thoughts to some of the most fundamental questions in journalism: what is our duty to inform the public – that is, the entire public? How do we best serve our role as that essential link between government at the governed, or as a watchdog on corporate misdeeds?

Which is not to say that traditional print media has always successfully served public interest. But as media sources are increasingly focused on drawing in an online audience, there must also be a focus creating universal access.

On Democracy Now this morning (Wednesday, Sept. 13), host Amy Goodman interviewed Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps, who argues in favor of the U.S. government taking a proactive role in building a national infrastructure to deliver broadband access to all Americans, rather than leaving it in the hands of private industry (which in this case is primarily cable and telephone companies). Copps said:

I think we're probably the only industrialized country on the face of the earth that lacks a coherent national strategy to build this infrastructure, and it's damaging for all Americans. It's damaging for small businesses who are unable to compete, and most of all, it's damaging for minorities and diversity communities, people who live in the inner cities and people who live in rural America.

This an opportune moment to have a discussion about media outreach to low-income, immigrant, and minority communities and what the implications are of perpetuating their disenfranchisement through the digital divide.