The evening opened with University of Virginia media studies professor Bruce Williams providing a fascinating overview of previous upheaval in the media business. The basic premise was that this was one of those key moments in the history of media that actually represented a seismic shift in the industry, and I could not agree more. But while the panelists were focused on how social media affects the gathering of news and the profession of journalism, I was interested in what I call a "crisis of control" in the industry.
What's different about this shift from previous historic upheavals is that the long-standing revenue model--advertising and subscriptions sold around controlled access to information, whether it be through print, radio, or TV, is dissolving. News is gathered and reported at a cost, but then distributed for free by a multitude of sources, all vying for eyeballs and scraps of financial remuneration.
While I agree that the digital age of journalism offers some really exciting access models, the financial assumptions are crumbling before our eyes. Dissipated distribution results in dissipated revenue. Our favorite newspapers and magazines have never been thinner. If the New York Times or the Washington Post or Newsweek or Fox News can't generate revenue, how are they to survive? If their newsgathering resources are shut down, who will report the stories that need reporting? Who will decide what stories are important and make sure they are accurate? Without a sound business model, these companies cannot continue providing what I consider to be valuable points of view.
Then we starting talking about NPR. They have been providing amazing stories all along, all over the world, as a non-profit. Their network of fundraising resources is legendary and has allowed them to pay excellent reporters enough to work throughout the globe. Could newspapers and magazines we value operate in the same way?
Along those same lines, what about micropayments? Apple owns the music distribution space right now via iTunes. What if I could download a tablet- or Kindle-friendly version of the New York Times for $.99 a day via their storefront? A copy of this month's Vanity Fair for $4.99? Many papers are experimenting with their own versions so they can hold onto that hefty cut Apple might take, but part of what makes the micropayment thing work is SIMPLICITY and ubiquity. I'm already buying my music there, why not my movies and news? Oh wait, I can ALREADY buy movies.
NPR owns the nonprofit model. Apple owns micropayments right now. Both models give me hope for the future.
What do you think?
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1 comments:
Hello there! Thanks for attending and thanks for the great question. I'd be interested in talking more about some of your points, and how the non-profit model could be fleshed out as a way to fund newsgathering. What about a non-profit based on the Associated Press model? Anyway, writing to say the podcast of the event is now up.
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