6 ms·

Different countries have different purchase power so subscriptions may be different expensive depending where you live. That said, paying for news is essential

by acd 6y ago

Different countries have different purchase power so subscriptions may be different expensive depending where you live. That said, paying for news is essential for our democracy. Paying for news allows news sites to pay journalist to research and write news stories. If we do not pay for news, news has to be financed through online advertising which is basically selling personal data for profit. Without paying revenue local news sites cannot afford to hire journalist. If there is not local journalist, there will not be controls, checks and writings on what elected officials do. Local news papers feed national news feed with articles and national news. So its essential for our democracy that we are willing to pay for news services which pays journalists.

dleslie 6y ago
Part of that concept is the implied outcome that once media is paid for by readers it will no longer engage in undesirable practices for revenue, like advertorials and shock content; but this is somewhat of a myth. Those shady practices were common before the Internet, and they'll be common even if media returns to a subscription service model. What you need is a well-funded, and non-profit public news media. It's not without its faults, but it certainly shines where private news media consistently fails to.
- BlueTemplar 6y ago
  Hmm, any examples of journalist-owned media engaging in such practices? I can think of at least 6 of them who don't (and don't have ads either).
  - dleslie 6y ago
    I'd give examples of independent journalists, particularly vloggers, who produce shock content of questionable merit, or who regularly publish promoted content; but I think you can identify them yourself.
    - BlueTemplar 6y ago
      Right, I didn't think about individuals... though b/vloggers that aren't already journalists generally don't have the pretension of following journalistic norms ?
dehrmann 6y ago
> If we do not pay for news, news has to be financed through online advertising Agreed. > which is basically selling personal data for profit Not necessarily. Mostly untargeted display ads don't. They could profit from personal data as much as TV or newspaper ads. They also yield a lot worse; my point is that it's possible to run ads that don't actually use personal data. My bigger concern with ad-funded journalism is it encourages stories and headlines that get clicks, not stories that are important. Journalism isn't supposed to be entertainment.

by acd 6y ago

dleslie 6y ago

Part of that concept is the implied outcome that once media is paid for by readers it will no longer engage in undesirable practices for revenue, like advertorials and shock content; but this is somewhat of a myth. Those shady practices were common before the Internet, and they'll be common even if media returns to a subscription service model. What you need is a well-funded, and non-profit public news media. It's not without its faults, but it certainly shines where private news media consistently fails to.

BlueTemplar 6y ago
Hmm, any examples of journalist-owned media engaging in such practices? I can think of at least 6 of them who don't (and don't have ads either).
- dleslie 6y ago
  I'd give examples of independent journalists, particularly vloggers, who produce shock content of questionable merit, or who regularly publish promoted content; but I think you can identify them yourself.
  - BlueTemplar 6y ago
    Right, I didn't think about individuals... though b/vloggers that aren't already journalists generally don't have the pretension of following journalistic norms ?

dehrmann 6y ago

> If we do not pay for news, news has to be financed through online advertising Agreed. > which is basically selling personal data for profit Not necessarily. Mostly untargeted display ads don't. They could profit from personal data as much as TV or newspaper ads. They also yield a lot worse; my point is that it's possible to run ads that don't actually use personal data. My bigger concern with ad-funded journalism is it encourages stories and headlines that get clicks, not stories that are important. Journalism isn't supposed to be entertainment.