Bob Collins of Minnesota Public Radio had an interesting blog post yesterday in advance of the National Conference for Media Reform being held in the Twin Cities.

Collins interviewed Josh Silver, executive director and co-founder of Free Press. Silver seems to share some similar thoughts I recently blogged about.

Newspaper profits are going down, but there are profits nonetheless. There is a bright future for quality journalism. Monetization is not the big hurdle. The real challenge is developing business models that frame and support journalism as a public service, not as a share of stock.

“What we’re seeing is a direct connection between the corporatization of the media and the failure of the media to provide the kind of journalism that democracy requires,” Silver said.

Josh Silver. You are my new hero.

Listen to some excerpts from MPR (mp3s):

• Fed up with “what is posing as journalism.”
• Three areas of the media need reforming.
• Why shouldn’t reporters be cut if people aren’t buying newspapers?

Stay tuned for my post on my ideal staff for a metro news startup.