Jason Stverak
Jason Stverak is a native of Rapid City, South DAKOTA and President of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a position he has held since January 2009. Before his service to the Franklin Center, Stverak served as Regional Field Director for the Sam Adams Alliance as well as Executive Director of the North Dakota Republican Party.
Nonprofit Journalism
Stverak is a nationally recognized authority on the subject of non-profit journalism. He contends that investigative journalism is "the most effective weapon of the press" and that nonprofit online ventures "give journalists the opportunity to investigate stories and reemerge as the legendary beat reporters from yesteryear."
His editorials often describe how traditional media outlets are no longer able to properly cover state and local government as well as perform in-depth investigative reporting. This is due to "economic realities" that has engulfed the industry. Stverak advocates that nonprofit journalism through the use of new technology is "filling the void" created by newsrooms that can no longer sufficiently staff reporters to cover state and local government.
Stverak is a strong proponent of traditional news groups working with nonprofit news organization to serve the public interest. Through his organization, Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, Stverak offers training to all news organizations interested in utilizing new media. He also invites all media outlets to "steal our stuff," welcoming journalists to use Franklin Center reporters stories and sourcing for their own publications.
Journalism and Government
Stverak is a leading advocate of the separation of government and journalism. In June, 2010, Stverak opposed attempts by Michigan State Senator Bruce Patterson to introduce legislation to license reporters. Patterson told Fox News that some reporters covering state politics don’t know what they’re talking about. He also complained that some journalists covering state politics worked for publications he never heard of. Stverak wrote in a Washington Examiner opinion editorial, "this legislation not only attempts to control the media but it is stepping on the constitutional protections afforded to the press."
In March, 2011, Stverak applauded the decision by the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate funding for National Public Radio.
The government has no place in the journalism industry and that includes funding news organizations. Currently, there are hundreds of non-profit organizations practicing journalism that thrive without taxpayer funding. The mere existence of these organizations demonstrates that NPR can survive without government influence.
In addition, rapid developments in technology have allowed television and broadcast stations to emerge all over the nation, taking the place of the original purpose of NPR. Additional government support of the media is not warranted and could have negative impacts on journalism as a whole.
Political Involvement
After graduating college in 1996, Stverak began working for United States Senator Larry Pressler's reelection campaign serving as a Regional Campaign Director. He spent the next two years working as the Legislative Campaign Coordinator for the South Dakota GOP. He would eventually move on, becoming Executive Director of the Minnehaha County Republican Party in Sioux Falls.
Stverak left South Dakota at the end of 1999 to become Finance Director for Nebraska Senate Candidate Don Stenberg. After Stenberg's defeat, Stverak became Political Director for the Nebraska GOP in 2001. He also worked for Omaha Mayor Hal Duab, serving as his Deputy Campaign Manager.
Six months after becoming the Political Director for the Nebraska GOP, Stverak would go back to North Dakota to serve as Executive Director for the state GOP, a position he held for six years.
In 2007 he made his way back into the campaign realm serving as Executive Director of North Dakota for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Presidential Committee. After Giuliani's failed bid for the GOP nomination, Stverak joined the nonprofit world, becoming Regional Field Director for the government transparency and accountability group, the Sam Adams Alliance.
Education and Honors
Stverak holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Foreign Service and Slavic Studies from Baylor University where he minored in Economics. In 2003, North Dakota Business Week Magazine named him one of the state's Top 40 under 40.
Notable Editorials
- You can't fight what your audience will support
- Think Tank Journalism: The Future of Investigative Reporting
- Government has no place in journalism
- As online news overtakes television, opportunities for citizen engagement with the news increase
- Ben Franklin's legacy thrives as online journalists inform public
- WikiLeaks isn't journalism
- Philadelphia’s blogger tax is a slippery slope
- Technology can do more than 'inform and engage'
- Rule change could increase government secrecy
- Non-profits beat government subsidy of news
- Licensing journalists is a dangerous trend
- Technology can do more than 'inform and engage'
- Franklin Center's Take on ProPublica's Pulitzer
- The pros and pros of 'citizen journalism'
- Non-profits beat government subsidy of news
- The Changing Face of Journalism
- Investigations and explanations – two journalism tasks where nonprofits can thrive