From The Chronicle, a special report on journalism and academia, including thinkers on how the decline of news media will affect higher education; and a look at how philosophy and journalism, two well-known approaches to truth seeking, make strange companions — and invaluable ones. Journalists need to stop being so lazy and unimaginative — here are 22 ideas for changing the way news is produced. A report by Leonard Downie Jr., formerly of The Washington Post, sets forth a number of ways to pay for journalism — one of them is government money. Columbia, the leading journalism school in the country, has placed its imprimatur on the idea of government funding of the news. From Vanity Fair, can newfangled web ads save journalism? Matt Pressman investigates. Will "anarchist" American news website Spot.us save journalism? From The Monthly, here's a short history of the media future. The "time bomb" effect of biased news: A study shows that over time even the most sophisticated readers can be manipulated. The media sucks: Sometimes, there aren't two sides to a debate. Polarized news?: An article on the media's moderate bias. Thomas Edsall on why journalism should own its liberalism — and then manage it, challenge it, and account for it. Taking on the "Democrat-Media Complex": An interview with conservative Internet entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart. The smart move: Give Frank Rich a show on Fox News. Summers as an intern at the Houston Chronicle helped turn Molly Ivins from a River Oaks girl into the most distinctive liberal voice in Texas journalism (and more and more and more). From TAP, a look at how Kathleen Parker became America's most-read woman columnist; and twilight of the op-ed columnist: What is the fate of the syndicated newspaper columnist in a world where online punditry is plentiful?
