Today's presentation and class discussion was centered around an issue facing all aspiring journalists, the 'death of the newspaper' and sources of funding to keep the industry alive. The presentation addressed who pays for journalism and why. Eryn explained that regarding news and journalism, you get what you pay for, thus the place of the 'public trust' journalist must be protected in order to maintain an informed democratic society. Citizen journalists and bloggers were described as being 'all eyeballs and no insight', and that they are an unreliable source of news and cannot be relied upon in place of professional journalists. So with the issue of newpaper decline in a contemporary new media climate, where can print news expect to get funding in the future?
Advertising has always held an important role in funding print news, providing the backbone of their revenue stream. However many companies are moving more towards online advertising. This means there is a need to consider alternate methods of funding. Of these, Eryn discussed philanthropy and public funding. Philanthropy (donations) are rare, but do exist in some media institutions. The problem with this form of funding is that the money may come with a hidden agenda, and leads to cash for comment type situations where donations become more like sponsorship.
Online profiteering is another way media organisations are being funded with the increasing prominence of online news. Media moguls such as Rupert Murdoch are moving away from free online news, declaring that news is a commodity and as such should be paid for online as well as in print. The counter argument for this is that it doesn't cost anything for news organisations to provide online news, and that it should remain free. However, coming back to the 'getting what you pay for argument', media institutions believe that quality journalism comes at a price and should be appreciated and maintained to promote an informed democracy.
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