Steven Waldman

Steven Waldman

The Unemployed Journalists Corps

posted by swaldman | 12:40pm Friday March 13, 2009

We have growing numbers of unemployed journalsits.
We have zillions of dollars being spent by the federal government, a recipe for mismanagement.
How about we employ some of these out of work journalists to evaluate and monitor the prorams to improve their quality?
Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps, hired a young man named Charlie Peters to be his head of evaluation. Peters then hired journalists to give honest assessments of the Peace Corps prorams — getting Shriver the bad news before they could become public, so the problems could be fixed. (Peters later went on to found The Washington Monthly, where I was once an editor).



Previous Posts

Good Bye
Today is my last day at Beliefnet (which I co-founded in 1999). The swirling emotions: sadness, relief, love, humility, pride, anxiety. But mostly deep, deep gratitude. How many people get to come up with an idea and have rich people invest money to make it a reality? How many people get to create

posted 8:37:24am Nov. 20, 2009 | read full post »

"Steven Waldman Named To Lead Commission Effort on Future of Media In a Changing Technological Landscape" (FCC Press Release)
STEVEN WALDMAN NAMED TO LEAD COMMISSION EFFORT ON FUTURE OF MEDIA IN A CHANGING TECHNOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announced today the appointment of Steven Waldman, a highly respected internet entrepreneur and journalist, to lead an agency-wide initiative to assess the state o

posted 11:46:42am Oct. 29, 2009 | read full post »

My Big News
Dear Readers, This is the most difficult (and surreal) post I've had to write. I'm leaving Beliefnet, the company I co-founded in 1999. In mid November, I'll be stepping down as President and Editor in Chief to lead a project on the future of the media for the Federal Communications Commission, the

posted 1:10:11pm Oct. 28, 2009 | read full post »

"Beliefnet Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief Steps Down to Lead FCC Future of the Media Initiative" (Beliefnet Press Release)
October 28, 2009 BELIEFNET CO-FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF STEPS DOWN TO LEAD FCC FUTURE OF THE MEDIA INITIATIVE New York, NY - October 28, 2009 - Beliefnet, the leading online community for inspiration and faith, announced today that Steven Waldman, co-founder, president and editor-in-chief, will re

posted 1:05:43pm Oct. 28, 2009 | read full post »

Secularizing the Cross (Christian Activists: Be Careful What You Wish For)
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week, in Buono v. Salazar, about whether a white 6 1/2 foot cross can be displayed in a national park as a tribute to World War I soldiers. Though it's depicted as a classic clash of the secular and the religious, it actually illustrates why Christian act

posted 1:15:51pm Oct. 08, 2009 | read full post »

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Comments read comments(3)
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bondgirl

posted March 13, 2009 at 1:20 pm


If more journalists were able to do honest evaluations of the government, they wouldn’t be in the problem they are in. All they do anymore is repeat talking points, so we aren’t buying their papers anymore. Why should we hire them to do the job they’ve already failed at?



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Tom

posted March 13, 2009 at 6:25 pm


The motivation is different since:
A) The Peace Corps are more of a pogressive organization
B) Thier findings in this instance weren’t being distributed to the masses, so they could afford to be brutally honest
Goes to show the press can be honest if necessary; they just choose to dispense propaganda instead



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the_napkin

posted March 13, 2009 at 10:29 pm


” All they do anymore is repeat talking points, so we aren’t buying their papers anymore.”
I don’t think you can make that blanket for all media. There’s lots of grassroots organizations that are independent.
The fact is, in this hyper-unrestricted economy, a few corporations have been able to control almost all the media. In Canada, there’s three to four who own 95% of media outlets. That’s something that can’t happen anymore. Regulation of media ownership is a must for journalism to stay true to its founding principles.



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