Last week, Free Press and SaveTheNews.org joined thousands of concerned citizens to file comments with the Federal Trade Commission on policy ideas to improve the future of journalism in America. The agency is collecting public comments in advance of its two-day workshop in December on the state of the news in our digital economy.

The high-profile workshop comes on the heels of a number of reports this year advocating for a central role for government in addressing the news and information needs of our communities.

In our comments, we renewed our call for a comprehensive effort across government, private industry, the nonprofit sector and the public to address the challenges facing quality reporting in print, online, and on radio and TV. We described how newsroom cuts are harming local communities and warned against the dangers of loosening antitrust protections or allowing greater media consolidation.

Download a copy of our FTC filing here: http://www.freepress.net/files/FTC_Journalism_Filing.pdf

It was encouraging to see the FTC open its process up to the public. Too often, working journalists and local citizens are left out of the debate about the future of news. The crisis in journalism is undeniably an economic issue, but it is also fundamentally a policy problem. While we explore new economic models for journalism, we must also examine what role government can play in supporting this indispensable institution.

In addition to filing more than 20 pages of research and analysis, Free Press and SaveTheNews.org also helped more than 2,000 engaged citizens respond to the FTC's call for input. Those who filed wrote in-depth comments about the state of the news in their communities and called -- almost unanimously -- for more support for noncommercial news and local reporting. The consensus seemed to be that the future of journalism is not just a business issue to be hashed out on Wall Street or in backroom board meetings, but a civic issue that affects all of us. It’s great to see the public taking a stand for quality journalism. We are proud to stand with them.