The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be holding two days’ worth of workshops on the future of the news industry. ASNE will be an active participant in these discussions, and you can help.

The workshops will be held on Dec. 1 and 3 at the FTC headquarters in Washington. The main topic of discussion will be how to support journalism, whatever the form, local, national and international. The workshops will reach beyond newspapers and look at all media, with a focus on the major shifts in recent years in terms of where advertisers are putting their money.

In a conference call I had with Susan DeSanti, the Director of Policy Planning for the Federal Trade Commission and two other attorneys, DeSanti said that the structure will be a mix of presentation and open discussion and promised “no talking heads.” ASNE is working with other groups to plan for these workshops and has been invited to meet with FTC staff to engage in further discussion prior to the workshops.

How can you help? By starting to provide us with real life studies and examples that we can bring to the FTC. The more fact-based, the better.

Two specific areas for discussion:

1. What our members see as the issues and facts crucial to the future of journalism
2. What are the regulatory legal or technological barriers that the news industry is facing as reader and advertiser behavior changes.

The FTC is willing to consider anything and everything that has been or can be tried and is looking for experiments and innovation.

Please send any such examples or considerations to ASNE Legal Counsel Kevin Goldberg.