Karin Dryhurst
Who Will Pay for the Fourth Estate?
An editorial in the Los Angeles Times this week examines the broken business model of the mainstream media—and suggests government actions to boost the industry.
The piece, written by leaders of the Annenberg School of Journalism at USC, focuses on the tension between the growing consumption of news and the declining revenue of traditional outlets whose advertisers have sought out online audiences.
The trend towards online consumption of news seems inevitable. People can access the headlines quickly and at no cost. But newspapers and broadcasters have crafted their own new media outlets with little financial success.
The New York Times Company, which includes almost 20 daily newspapers, draws about 10 times the online visitors of The Huffington Post, yet the newspaper company has scrambled to alleviate its debt load.
Though bloggers have had a share in breaking incriminating stories on government, the fact remains—as the editorial points out—that the most populated political sites on the Web can attribute some level of their coverage to traditional sources that have fronted the reporting costs.
A robust media—or an inactive one—can make the difference between health care coverage for the middle class and a society riddled by burdensome medical costs. Investigative reporting can provide a necessary framework for the American public rather than the buzzwords of the campaign trail that demonize or idolize policy solutions.
While the commentary and analyses found on the blogosphere can provide a marketplace of ideas for readers—and have often held the mainstream media accountable for bias—a certain depth can be lost without the toil of beat reporters who pore over government documents and develop the relationships with bureaucrats turned sources.
As someone who has spent time in decimated newsrooms, I have seen the effects of a diminished news staff that must cut coverage areas and forfeit examination of the inner dealings between government officials and special interests. A single reporter who covers several communities does not have the time to attend the smaller committee meetings where evidence of harm can be uncovered.
As more newspapers declare bankruptcy and broadcaster stocks plummet, who will pay for the fourth estate?
The editorial suggests that government play a role, from increasing postal-rate subsidies for magazines to removing barriers that prevent philanthropies from purchasing news outlets.
President Barack Obama has described, as part of his technology agenda, a commitment to diversity in media ownership. The agenda fails to mention how diversity in ownership translates to a sustainable independent press.
I would hope a commitment to diversity in ownership would mean the examination of sources of funding other than advertising, such as the nonprofit model of The St. Petersburg Times, which is owned by the Poynter Institute.
While not a panacea for an industry hit hard by both changing technologies and a failing economy, the new administration’s commitment to transparency will be hollow without a plan to revive the news industry.
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Posted at 2:19 PM, Jan 21, 2009 in
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