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Some thoughts... First, you need organizations interested in sustainable and not more and more shareholder returns. Sustainable is a different way to look at t

by mfer 3y ago

Some thoughts... First, you need organizations interested in sustainable and not more and more shareholder returns. Sustainable is a different way to look at the financial planning. Second, newspapers have long been funded by ads. But, the current structure of the ad business puts most of the profits in the pockets of the middlemen. Newspapers would need to re-evaluate ads and how to functionally be successful. Third, you only need so many national or international level news organizations. Local news brings a of opportunity. Investment there may be worth while (I'd like to think so). Basically, we need to change the way we think about it. Innovation.

coldpie 3y ago
> Third, you only need so many national or international level news organizations. Local news brings a of opportunity. Investment there may be worth while (I'd like to think so). Yeah, I agree. Lots of local papers have been bought up and hollowed out by national organizations. I think there's a lot of opportunity there. Smaller & more focused is the key. One reason I don't pay for the big news outlets, and even the local big-name newspapers, is because they are owned by and employ some really disgusting people, who I don't want to financially support. The bigger you are, the more likely that is to happen. More choice of many smaller outlets means you can be choosier. As a single example, here in the Twin Cities a handful of journalists are trying out the model at Racket[1]. They're mostly reader-funded, and because they're not doing big national stories, they don't need a shitload of subscribers or scummy ad money to keep the lights on. There's some hope to be found here. [1] A look at their first year of finances: https://racketmn.com/rackets-year-in-review-august-2021-july-2022 https://racketmn.com/rackets-year-in-review-august-2021-july...

by mfer 3y ago

coldpie 3y ago

> Third, you only need so many national or international level news organizations. Local news brings a of opportunity. Investment there may be worth while (I'd like to think so). Yeah, I agree. Lots of local papers have been bought up and hollowed out by national organizations. I think there's a lot of opportunity there. Smaller & more focused is the key. One reason I don't pay for the big news outlets, and even the local big-name newspapers, is because they are owned by and employ some really disgusting people, who I don't want to financially support. The bigger you are, the more likely that is to happen. More choice of many smaller outlets means you can be choosier. As a single example, here in the Twin Cities a handful of journalists are trying out the model at Racket[1]. They're mostly reader-funded, and because they're not doing big national stories, they don't need a shitload of subscribers or scummy ad money to keep the lights on. There's some hope to be found here. [1] A look at their first year of finances: https://racketmn.com/rackets-year-in-review-august-2021-july-2022 https://racketmn.com/rackets-year-in-review-august-2021-july...