4 ms·
What makes them special is that, ostensibly, their role is at least in part to hold power to account. So it's important that news sites are financially independ
by seertaak 6y ago
What makes them special is that, ostensibly, their role is at least in part to hold power to account. So it's important that news sites are financially independent. If not, they're in effect beholden to other actors, whether in government or the private sector.
Or to put it differently, we need more WSJ and NYT, less Breitbart and Buzzfeed.
- dehrmann 6y agoPeople disagree. They want entertaining news for free.
- manicdee 6y agoThat is how you get Breitbart and Infowars becoming the main source of “information” for many people.
- notsureaboutpg 6y ago>their role is at least in part to hold power to account And they suck horribly at doing that. All most news sites ever do is constantly pander to uber-elite "woke" moral sensibilities and pearl-clutching. That's why people don't view them as important and don't want to pay for them.
- qwertycrackers 6y agoIf this is the argument being advanced, then the legislation is equivalent to passing a special tax on Google to pay for this "vital public service" (not debating the validity of this perspective). Why should Google and only Google pay this tax? If newspapers are so important, pay them right out of the public treasury.