Session III: The Essential Role of a Free and Independent Media

American news media — print, broadcast, and internet-based — are dominated by large, corporate behemoths that have often substituted opinion and sometimes misinformation for the traditional, “just the facts” reportage of yesteryear.  The superstructure of media intermediaries has had a corrosive effect on democracy.  While smaller, independent news outlets have for many years been in decline, even to the verge of extinction, growing public dissatisfaction, skepticism, and distrust of corporate media have created opportunities for the resurgence of free and independent media.  The vital role played by the media to the continued health and survival of democracy will be explored by this panel.