Filling gaps in accountability journalism, including waning statehouse coverage, was the central focus when the Center for Media Law and Policy, a joint project of the journalism and law schools at UNC, convened a day-long workshop Jan. 20, 2012, to reflect on the Federal Communication Commission’s 2011 report The Information Needs of Communities.

Report author Steven Waldman was among the participants. “Many a government report has evaporated into the ether after publication,” he said, so the series of workshops organized by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation represents an important model for leveraging a study like his create greater impact…

Because the UNC workshop’s task was to consider ways in which cable, satellite, Internet and mobile providers might contribute more to efforts to bolster accountability journalism, discussion cut across a range of topics broached in Waldman’s FCC report. The workshop could be seen as a barometer for gauging which of the report’s raft of recommendations seemed most urgent to local actors…

The UNC workshop revealed a surprising appetite for cross-industry cooperation. Because participants were especially interested in market-based and voluntary initiatives, the FCC’s role was limited in many discussions.” Source: From Competition to Cooperation report (pdf)