Rich Lowry, November 2009
Longtime editor of the independent conservative magazine National Review, Lowry presented an engaging public lecture titled “Death to ‘Legacy’ Media: A Defense of New and Independent Media.” He reviewed U.S. press history – highly partisan and opinionated through most of our country’s existence – to argue that the blogosphere is more rule than exception. After lauding today’s more free-wheeling media environment as a fulfillment of classical liberalism, he listed a half-dozen ways that the new media terrain better serves the American public, including more audiences being served; a more open, small ‘d’ democratic system allowing easier entry for start-ups; and greater diversity of story selection. In his lecture and a smaller Q and A session with students, Lowry discussed the increasing influence of independent media – including National Review, which according to Lowry, “exists to make a point, not a profit.”