Beyond The Echo Chamber is a book and blog dedicated to changing the national conversation about progressive media and the future of journalism itself.
Co-authored by Jessica Clark and Tracy Van Slyke, Beyond The Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media tells the story of the rise of progressive media from 2004 to today and lays out a clear, hard-hitting theory of ongoing impact.
The book, “tells one of the great stories of this decade,” says Christopher Hayes, Washington Editor of The Nation. “The evolution of an entirely new (and newly powerful) progressive media… It’s a must-read for media practitioners, consumers and progressives of all stripes.”
Clark and Van Slyke work on the cutting edge of media research, analysis and commentary. Beyondtheecho.net will build upon the book’s theories of strategic impact, feature the latest news and trends related to the future of journalism and track the latest high-impact media projects. We invite you to comment, offer suggestions about related stories and projects for us to cover, and join us as we continue to follow the intersection of media, politics and change.
Why “Beyond the Echo Chamber”?
When we started our research in 2005, it was all the rage to talk about how progressive media needed “infrastructure”–an echo chamber to mirror and combat the right’s noise machine. Over the past four years of our research, writing and organizing, we’ve come to believe that progressive media’s impact and sustainability depend on moving “beyond the echo chamber” to a collaborative, networked model of reporting and community building. In both the book and on this website, we explore how progressive media makers and outlets can:
- Transform themselves to survive and thrive in a participatory media environment?
- Work with users to move stories into the national dialogue?
- Take advantage of the the four network layers (outlined in the book) to develop and spread content and engage their communities?
- Measure and tell their story of impact?
Jessica Clark is a writer, editor and researcher, with more than 15 years of experience spanning commercial, educational, independent and public media production. Currently she is the Research Director for American University’s Center for Social Media, where she directs the Future of Public Media project, conducts and commisions research,such as the influential 2009 report Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics, and organizes events such as the Beyond Broadcast conference. She also writes a monthly column for PBS’ MediaShift on new directions in public media.
A journalist and frequent media commentator, Clark is the former executive editor of In These Times, -a national, award-winning monthly magazine of progressive news, analysis and cultural reporting-where she also served as the managing editor, associate publisher and assistant publisher. Her freelance articles have appeared in in such outlets as the San Francisco Chronicle, the American Prospect online, The Ottawa Citizen and South Africa’s Wireless. She holds an MA in Social Sciences and a BA in English from the University of Chicago.
Tracy Van Slyke has dedicated her career as a journalist, communications professional and media producer to building a strong independent media infrastructure. She is currently the Director of The Media Consortium–a network of the nation’s leading, independent, progressive media outlets. Through The Media Consortium she works to organize effective partnerships and innovative projects. Its mission is to amplify independent media’s voice, increase its collective clout, leverage current audiences and reach new ones and seize the current moment to change the debate in this country. Van Slyke is a frequent writer, commentator and consultant on the future of journalism, the use of social media, and the impact of progressive media. In 2009, she commissioned and edited “The Big Thaw: Charting a New Course for Journalism” an influential report that details implications of current and future market trends on journalism and business models and lays out key recommendations for independent media.
Van Slyke is the former publisher of In These Times magazine, a national, award-winning monthly magazine of progressive news, analysis and cultural reporting. In 2005 and 2006, she and Clark co-authored landmark articles on strengthening the progressive media landscape including, “Making Connections: Why is the news so bad? What can progressives do to fix it?” and “Welcome to the Media Revolution: How today’s media makers are shaping tomorrow’s news.”
Van Slyke is currently on the board of both Women, Action and the Media and National People’s Action–a network of grassroots, community organizations dedicated to creating a society in which racial and economic justice are realized. In 2009, she was a Progressive Women Voice’s fellow, the premier media and leadership training program organized by the Women’s Media Center. Prior to joining In These Times, she was the Communications Director for the National Training and Information Center, a national non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening grassroots organizations. In 2000, she worked in Knight Ridder’s Washington, D.C. bureau during the presidential campaign, covering national politics and events. She also covered city and county government for the Iowa City Gazette in Iowa City, IA in 1999 and 2000. She holds a double BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and Literature, Science and the Arts from the University of Iowa.
