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Publishers are middlemen between writers and readers and are terrified of losing that rent seeking position.
by newsclues 6y ago
Publishers are middlemen between writers and readers and are terrified of losing that rent seeking position.
- jgalt212 6y agoThe gatekeeping function value, though. You can argue whether they charge too much for those services, or not. But the role of the editor, and the desire to protect a valuable brand, is real and valuable.
- Dirlewanger 6y agoThe popularity of Substack shows that people don't care about those "valuable brands" though, they care about good content. NYT and friends eroded what integrity their brands had in the past decade by chasing the clickbait dragon. They did this to themselves, let them die the death they deserve.
- ameister14 6y agoUnfortunately, it seems that newspapers themselves don't think the role of the editor and the desire to protect the brand is all that valuable.
- newsclues 6y agoWhy is the brand the middleman? I read a writers words, and follow reporters as the true brands. Writers can hire editors without a publisher. The value they could offer of being a gatekeeper and keeping out bad content is expensive and the advertising is counter to the readers desires. It’s a broken business model.
- jgalt212 6y agoOK, then. Who vouches for the quality of a name you've never seen before? I doubt you're in favor or freezing the current pool of good reporters, nor spending the time needed to read all the new writers to see which ones are worth your time.