Media houses, especially newspapers and TV-channels, are finding it hard to survive in the web-world. The net has changed the way we do things and more changes are coming via the many writers – bloggers – aggregators that are sprouting. Anybody can comment – it hardly costs a thing to start – and the amount of information and commentary is already huge. Many of the new channels are now quite good.
But big fixed costs like printing presses, staff are difficult to sustain. New business models are required – the economics of providing information and news is being reinvented.
An independent press has been the ideal for a long time – to give correct information, to balance the forces in a society, to be a watchdog. At the moment the big question for the old media seems to be survival – nobody seems to be willing to pay them for news and commentary, and advertising is not giving enough income.
At the same time it can be said that the new media are technically oriented, but not very conscious about its role in society. The new technology is truly awesome – it provides vastly improved possibilities.
Apart from technology and business models there is the question of the public availability of information. Public debate is a prerequisite for a sound society. The old media has been taking this job seriously, and in the new world there is a real danger that the flow of information will change. The access can possibly be controlled by “someone”: the state, the “rich”, the organizers of scams, the lobbyists, the spinners, the marketeers (the mad people).
The conspiracy people are now busy telling the world what goes on, and this is probably a good thing.
But surely people are willing to pay for independent news, commentary, good editing. Public openness must be part of our future – transparency, critical journalism, boldness, journalistic depth, digging out information, perspectives.
The new media is surely arising – but we must also get rid of the old media that we don’t need.
Tags: critical journalism, editing, Media, press