Discussion group: ‘Foundations and the democratic public sphere’
Discussion group: ‘Foundations and the democratic public sphere’
The discussion group ‘Foundations and Democratic Public Sphere’ is an initiative of the BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt, the Hamburger Stiftung für Wirtschaftsethik and the VolkswagenStiftung, aimed at examining philanthropic support for journalism in Germany. The discussion group is open to all foundations and aims to foster cross-foundation dialogue on ways in which foundations can support quality journalism.
The media landscape in Germany – and with it the system of public discourse in a democracy – is undergoing rapid change. Independent, high-quality journalism lies at the heart of the media’s role in society. It acts as a watchdog over government action and corporate behaviour. In many quarters, however, there are concerns about a decline in the quality of journalistic output. Furthermore, traditional journalism faces major challenges in the digital world, which require a systemic approach and a high degree of innovation.
The BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt, the Hamburger Stiftung für Wirtschaftsethik and the VolkswagenStiftung have therefore taken the initiative to launch a discussion group entitled ‘Foundations and the Democratic Public Sphere’, with the aim of engaging further foundations in this topic and deepening the discussion on the promotion of journalism by foundations. Other foundations are warmly invited to join this initiative.
The discussion group is open to all foundations and is intended to facilitate a coordinated exchange of ideas amongst all participants, from which collaborations and initiatives can be developed and steered to further advance the topic of ‘journalism supported by charitable foundations’. The aim is to establish close links with the Federal Association of German Foundations.
A series of the discussion group’s academic days is planned for 2011 and 2012, with the aim of making the challenges of a culture of public discourse the subject of strategic deliberations through dialogue with journalists, media scholars and media entrepreneurs.
In the USA in particular, but also in Germany, foundations and civil society organisations are already supporting the press. However, the involvement of German foundations in the field of journalism and the media is often focused on communicating specific topics or on general programmes for young professionals and exchange schemes. The high number of journalism awards is particularly striking in this context. The systematic promotion of a democratic public sphere has not yet managed to establish itself on the charitable or fundraising agenda. A shift from a thematic to a systematic approach – that is, from ‘support for journalists’ to ‘support for journalism’ – would be desirable here.
At the same time, unintended side effects of charitable engagement in the media market must be taken into account. The existing business model of the media, based on newsstand sales, subscriptions and advertising, is in the process of disintegrating. However, it cannot be the role of foundations to intervene in these market processes. It does, however, seem desirable for foundations to provide support in introducing and evaluating new, laboratory-style refinancing models – including those funded by donations – (‘development aid for new forms of journalism’).
Journalistic work will by no means become superfluous, but must adapt to the new circumstances. This adaptation is an entrepreneurial task. Support should therefore not be directed solely at the print sector, for example, but at journalism in its function. Rather than compensating for past shortcomings, the third sector’s focus should therefore be on the non-profit promotion of new organisational forms for a media-based public sphere.
The discussion group ‘Foundations and the Democratic Public Sphere’ aims to explore exactly where the current shortcomings in quality journalism lie. Through constructive discourse, areas for action are to be identified in which foundations might wish to become involved. This may ultimately lead to collaborations and initiatives in which specific projects are implemented.
The overarching aim is to create an alliance of foundations which, whilst working together under one umbrella but with individual funding priorities, wish to commit themselves to – and make their mark on – safeguarding quality journalism as a democratic watchdog.
