about DWC
The DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy was founded on the premise that free news media are essential to the sustainability of democracy. Combining scholarly research and real-world experience, the Center supports a policy of democratic free media in the United States and around the globe. Through its missions the Center has become a nationally and internationally acknowledged leader in the critical effort to support policies of democratic media. The Center's primary activities include:
Research, Faculty&Staff and Curriculum: Our undergraduate and graduate classes are designed to offer future journalists -- and private and public sector leaders who will interact with them -- a thorough understanding of the role of the news media in the policymaking process.
Dispatches, the DWC newsletter, is published two times a year. Read the past issues.
Media Fellowships: More than 500 print and broadcast journalists have studied at the DeWitt Wallace Center from the United States and abroad.
The rapid spread of powerful new technologies means that more people have access to more information than ever before. At the same time, national boundaries are fading in significance as a complex global economy takes hold.
In this climate, emerging and established democracies alike face challenges in creating and maintaining media that citizens can trust to help them make informed decisions. Such concerns include how to guarantee broadcaster autonomy, how to design policies for unbiased electoral campaign coverage, the role of political advertising and how to ensure balanced reporting on ethnic and racial conflict.
Moreover, thoughtful and relevant political coverage is often obscured by information and entertainment overload. Changes in the structure of media ownership can have serious consequences for the willingness and ability of reporters and editors to provide compelling analysis of important issues.
In order to address the choices confronting the media of different nations, the DeWitt Wallace Center believes that a broad range of approaches is needed. From scholarly research to real-world applications, from Duke University classrooms to newsrooms around the world, the Center is committed to supporting and enhancing democracy through free and responsible media.
Contact the Center for more information.