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A convincing op-ed, even the suggestion of "train thousands of people" as a better use of Zuckerberg's fortune resonates, but then... > He might even fund a ne

A convincing op-ed, even the suggestion of "train thousands of people" as a better use of Zuckerberg's fortune resonates, but then... > He might even fund a newspaper to make up for social media’s destruction of local journalism. I'd rank a lot of other things higher than social media on a list of "destroyers of local journalism" 1. Craigslist 2. Google Maps 3. Online publishing 4. Blogs 5. Social Media? Regardless of who is at fault for the destruction of local journalism, I am surprised to hear journalists advocating for "billionaire philanthropy" as a sustainable business model.

untog 9y ago
Billionaire philanthropy has been the major source of funding for journalism for a very long time - in many ways the industry funded by classified advertising and the like is a short term blip by comparison. Not saying that Zuckerberg funded local newspapers are a good answer, just that they aren't that atypical, historically speaking.
- justicezyx 9y ago
  That's the idea, right? If media are living off the billionaire, then what can you expect from them to say about billionaires?
  - jessaustin 9y ago
    Wow, I hadn't previously thought it would be possible for me to trust WaPo less. Good job!
kiliantics 9y ago
Number one destroyer of local journalism is media centralisation via conglomerates. Zuckerberg would just be another one.
gerbilly 9y ago
> I'd rank a lot of other things higher than social media on a list of "destroyers of local journalism" Why is that? I would rank it pretty high. It's true that online advertising killed of a lot of the ad revenue that newspapers relied on, but I think social media are also killing the newspapers simply by displacing people's 'news browsing' behaviour from a newspaper or magazine to a facebook feed. A lot of people get all their news from social media, and that proportion is growing. To add to that behavioural effect, media outlets also give away their content on facebook as well, believing that it would be better to have a presence than to ignore the platform . They are basically giving their product away for free on one of the very platforms that is destroying the industry.
- andrenotgiant 9y ago
  Maybe Social Media is a nail in Local Newspaper's coffin, but Craigslist and Google Local came first, and put them in the coffin. From Wikipedia's "Decline of Newspapers"[1] >Free services like Craigslist have decimated the classified advertising departments of newspapers, some of which depended on classifieds for 70% of their ad revenue [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_newspapers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_newspapers
  - gerbilly 9y ago
    Both are factors, and I don't honestly know which is the larger factor, however, it's no longer just local papers that are affected. The large national dailies are getting thinner and thinner each year, each month it seems. Compare a Sunday times from today to one from the early nineties if you remember them. This is not good. A clickbait article on facebook that has been targeted to appeal to your biases is not the same thing as real journalism.
gaius 9y ago
It says everything about the public's perception of Zuck that millions believed this https://mobile.twitter.com/pixelatedboat/status/833887324958138368/photo/1 https://mobile.twitter.com/pixelatedboat/status/833887324958...
simonw 9y ago
I'm intrigued to see Google Maps on your list. Could you expand on that?
- andrenotgiant 9y ago
  Yeah I guess I could have said "Google Local" I meant "Google Maps" as in the infrastructure to display local business results when you search for "Family Dentist in Boca Raton" in Search or Maps. IIRC daily newspapers have historically gotten >60% of revenue from advertising. Local Newspaper = Local Advertising. A big slice of local business advertising budget that previously went to Newspapers is now going into all the things that ensure a business shows up well in Local/Maps searches.

untog 9y ago

Billionaire philanthropy has been the major source of funding for journalism for a very long time - in many ways the industry funded by classified advertising and the like is a short term blip by comparison. Not saying that Zuckerberg funded local newspapers are a good answer, just that they aren't that atypical, historically speaking.

justicezyx 9y ago
That's the idea, right? If media are living off the billionaire, then what can you expect from them to say about billionaires?
- jessaustin 9y ago
  Wow, I hadn't previously thought it would be possible for me to trust WaPo less. Good job!

kiliantics 9y ago

Number one destroyer of local journalism is media centralisation via conglomerates. Zuckerberg would just be another one.

gerbilly 9y ago

> I'd rank a lot of other things higher than social media on a list of "destroyers of local journalism" Why is that? I would rank it pretty high. It's true that online advertising killed of a lot of the ad revenue that newspapers relied on, but I think social media are also killing the newspapers simply by displacing people's 'news browsing' behaviour from a newspaper or magazine to a facebook feed. A lot of people get all their news from social media, and that proportion is growing. To add to that behavioural effect, media outlets also give away their content on facebook as well, believing that it would be better to have a presence than to ignore the platform . They are basically giving their product away for free on one of the very platforms that is destroying the industry.

andrenotgiant 9y ago
Maybe Social Media is a nail in Local Newspaper's coffin, but Craigslist and Google Local came first, and put them in the coffin. From Wikipedia's "Decline of Newspapers"[1] >Free services like Craigslist have decimated the classified advertising departments of newspapers, some of which depended on classifieds for 70% of their ad revenue [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_newspapers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_newspapers
- gerbilly 9y ago
  Both are factors, and I don't honestly know which is the larger factor, however, it's no longer just local papers that are affected. The large national dailies are getting thinner and thinner each year, each month it seems. Compare a Sunday times from today to one from the early nineties if you remember them. This is not good. A clickbait article on facebook that has been targeted to appeal to your biases is not the same thing as real journalism.

gaius 9y ago

It says everything about the public's perception of Zuck that millions believed this https://mobile.twitter.com/pixelatedboat/status/833887324958138368/photo/1 https://mobile.twitter.com/pixelatedboat/status/833887324958...

simonw 9y ago

I'm intrigued to see Google Maps on your list. Could you expand on that?

andrenotgiant 9y ago
Yeah I guess I could have said "Google Local" I meant "Google Maps" as in the infrastructure to display local business results when you search for "Family Dentist in Boca Raton" in Search or Maps. IIRC daily newspapers have historically gotten >60% of revenue from advertising. Local Newspaper = Local Advertising. A big slice of local business advertising budget that previously went to Newspapers is now going into all the things that ensure a business shows up well in Local/Maps searches.