I'm a former news editor for a metro newspaper. I love journalism and believe strongly in the need for the Fourth Estate. But the business model that previous

I'm a former news editor for a metro newspaper. I love journalism and believe strongly in the need for the Fourth Estate. But the business model that previously fueled quality journalism no longer works. I am highly confident that powerful entities (people, corporations, and governments) are getting away with much, much more malfeasance these days than they did in the '50s-'90s, when the news industry was well respected and well funded. Investigative reporters, reporters with the bandwidth to doggedly pursue a story for months or years, even boring old statehouse reporters ... they've nearly all been defanged through countless budget cuts. It's a vicious cycle. Jobs get cut, the quality of the content suffers, people lose trust and cancel subscriptions, revenue drops, repeat. Ultimately, it's the rich and powerful who benefit from the dearth of quality journalism and the hostility toward the media stirred up by several prominent political figures. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and there is far less sunlight now than a couple of generations ago.