Understanding the Free Press initiative
Jul 13, 2020
Kate Riley of The Seattle Times
Understanding the Free Press initiative
Seattle Times Editorial Page editor Kate Rilay will speak to the Rotary Club of Kirkland about the Free Press initiative. The Seattle Times is undertaking a unique public-service initiative with the goal to inspire its local community to become the epicenter of free press reform, and in turn inspire the nation. The ultimate goal is to re-establish America’s free press in a modern era by doing the following:
  • Re-establish the Founders’ principles of protection, subsidization and universal access.
  • Reform newspaper and media ownership by creating laws and rules that will enable local communities across Washington state and the nation to rebuild trusted local stewardship.
  • Reform the internet for the public good by redirecting the large tech platforms’ excessive control of internet advertising revenue to newspapers and other trusted news sources. And, pursue other technology solutions to enable newspapers to profit from their journalism. (Frank Blethen, The Seattle Times, Dec. 20, 2019).
Kate Riley's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Seattle Times. She is a former Rotarian from the Tri-Cities area.