Pay us to inform you!
By Chris Sewell
Paying to be informed may seem like the only business model of today, depending on how well informed you are. A major benefit that citizens exploit today is technological advantages and being savvy is a big plus. Clearly, this is where some issues lie because the profession of journalism is being challenged. Consequently, the business model is at a downfall due to the latter statement and a few others.
A recent article that I came across, dug into issues that are contributing to the downfall. One of these issues that were pointed out is trust. Trust within different communities and trust within the overall news media, the article argued. In Rohé’s (2017) own words, online Journalism is compensated through ads, not entirely, but a majority is and that sucks because the profession is almost identical to everything else that is found on the internet, including the ads (np).
Viewers are at a distrust with internet and television news, which raises the question of how independent are those in the profession? (Rohé, np). When revenue is based on a number of views and clicks, along with paid subscribers, that only result in bad journalism and there as to be preventive measures. Ultimately, this prevention should bring the profession from its spiraling motion. Just to name a few, internet platforms such a Google, Facebook, Tweeter, and Snap chat are some dominant medium for information.
In the past, changes made to Facebook’s algorithm resulted in the fall of half, The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, and the San Francisco Chronicle, contents that users interact with. The reason for the change was simply a step in preventing misinformation. Earlier, I mentioned that citizens have the advantage of technology and being savvy is a plus. Now it’s safe to say, it has contributed in two-thirds of adults getting their news through social media (Feld 2018, np).
Another means of stopping the bad business model of Journalism is through nonprofit funding. Nonprofit journalism has been around for quite some time and funding are available only if you meet the criteria specified. Many of us might be familiar with investigative journalism, which is a nonprofit entity, that has a plus rating in terms of improving the business model. The government usually offer grants to people in the profession who are interesting in doing Journalism for purposes such as health or the environment. I won’t get into details about how much are these grants might be, but well establish news platforms also offer the same.
The article, making news when the market fails, said it best when it stated; instead of persuading people to come to a website, why not make their content available through channels currently in use by residents (Konieczna, 2018). However, the author used terms such as residents and the local community that equals isolation and bonding with the journalist.
But deviation from the real question of who should pay? Apparently, nonprofit journalism is on the rise but it remains a tiny fraction in comparison to their surrounding newspapers and broadcasters. On the other hand, Feld (2018) is simply suggesting that “internet platforms should pay handsomely for the privilege.”
Feld, Horald. Rethinking journalism: how to fight disinformation and save the media. 26 June, 2018 published: (np).
Rohé, Benjamin. Journalism needs a new business model and it is based on trust. 10th Oct, 2017 published: (np).
Konieczna, Magda. Making news when the market fails. 15th Aug, 2018 published: (np).
