Welcome to the new Committee of Concerned Journalists website.

As you may know, CCJ has separated from our sister organization, the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). CCJ is now affiliated with the Missouri School of Journalism and we are delighted to be part of the distinguished tradition of journalistic teaching and research of that remarkable institution.

PEJ has now become part of the Pew Research Center and will concentrate on research, adding to the depth of knowledge about media issues that Pew has pioneered.

CCJ will continue its tradition of newsroom training to achieve the following goals:

1) to clarify and renew journalists’ faith in the core principles and functions of journalism by making available the Traveling Curriculum to both print and broadcast news organizations.

2) to create a better understanding of those journalistic principles to the public, and

3) to engage and inform media ownership and management of these principles and their financial and social value to the democracy.

The ConcernedJournalists.org website works towards achievement of these goals by featuring original content aimed specifically at CCJ members including Talking Journalism, a survey of ideas and tips from leading journalists about how they do their jobs. There will also be increased interactivity with members and a section on the site devoted to pieces from international journalists that looks at journalism in their home countries. And J-tools, the on-line encyclopedia of aides for journalists and citizens, has moved to ConcernedJournalists.org with a new search function that makes it easier for users to find the exact tool or tools they are looking for.

Happily, CCJ’s collaboration with PEJ will continue. We have much in common, especially where it concerns helping journalists specifically and citizens in general understand the value of excellent journalism. PEJ has also launched its new website and we encourage CCJ-ers to take full advantage of its important research.

At CCJ, our goal is to deepen that mutual understanding between journalists and citizens.

Frequently, we hear from journalists who express their astonishment that the public seems not to value what they do. We also hear from citizens who are equally astonished at journalism’s tendency to ignore or to trivialize issues that the public perceives as important to their lives as citizens.

We want to hear from you whether you are practicing journalists or citizens. We want to know what you think works in journalism and what doesn’t. We hope the new website will do much to foster a shared understanding of the issues that concern us all as citizens of our communities, our countries and our world.

Please join us in helping this important dialogue continue.

Jeffrey Dvorkin
Executive Director