I pay for the news. Here’s why.
There’s an old joke that an economist is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. I would argue that you can substitute “media executive” for “economist” and have just as valid a joke.
After tracking my media (specifically, news media) for a few days, I didn’t get many surprises. My consumption, while slightly varied, is intentionally consistent.
When typed out in black and white, my life looks roughly like the one your parents threatened if you misbehaved, one with limited phone usage and visits only to websites allowed through your high school firewall. After a morning regimen that excludes all electronics and includes making coffee, my daily routine is a visit to The Wall Street Journal homepage on my laptop. Yes, homepage. I’ve been doing this for years, and every roommate I’ve had since 2015 has the same raised-eyebrow reaction that you probably have right now. Two things about this habit surprise people. 1) I do not check my phone in the morning, and 2) I visit a news site’s actual homepage. I don’t click through on Facebook or Twitter.
I check the WSJ homepage every morning because I extract value from that experience. Someone whose expertise is news has spent time considering and prioritizing that page, hopefully with the intent of communicating key messages. If I only have 12 minutes to read the news in the morning, I do not want to receive information that the general public has deemed important through “reactions” on Facebook. I want to receive the information that experts — that is, journalists — deem the most important. That is what the front page represents. It’s curated content that exists regardless of who I am or what I do. That is the news.
I pay for media for the same reason that I check the WSJ homepage every morning — I value content. I value uninhibited information and organized content and, most importantly, the skill and expertise of credible journalists who know a lot more than my 21-year-old self does about world events. I pay for media because I’m intentionally cautious about the information that I collect, and I have no desire to background-check the author of every article I read. While I don’t patronize an extensive list of news organizations, I have subscribed loyally to one newspaper and one news magazine since 2015. To this end, “what will she pay for?” or “what rate can I charge advertisers for her attention” are the wrong questions to ask if you are a media executive. I would argue that media companies should be asking, “What does she value?” Value has a longer shelf-life than price.
To be clear, I’m not some news purist who refuses to check push notifications on my phone. When I see breaking headlines, I click. And certain newsletters will certainly rotate in and out of my inbox. I even follow some news organizations on social media. But these sources are supplements to my news diet, certainly not the substance.
The organizations to which I am devoted have established a level of trust that others have failed to gain. Though I, like any living person, am not elated to be adding extra lines to my credit card bill each month, I am happy to use my money to support organizations and vote for the type of information I want in the world with my dollar.
