Now that World Press Freedom Day has come and gone, many of us, especially in the United States, can resume the “deathwatch” for the traditional news media.
As I repeatedly blogged about in an earlier incarnation, there are many concerns that the American press, and by extension American democracy (since democracy requires an informed public), face a serious crisis due to the rise and prevalence of “infotainment,” on the one hand, and advocacy journalism on the other, instead of straight news reporting. Yet even the advertisement-driven business model hasn’t been enough to keep many traditional print sources afloat in a sea of free Web-based news.
On May 5, in an appearance on The Daily Show, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham announced that his magazine’s owner, The Washington Post, had put the publication up for sale, which may ultimately lead to its demise after 77 years of operation. If you’re interested in buying it, please let Meacham know.
Meacham referenced author J.D. Salinger’s celebrated book, saying Newsweek is one of the few remaining “catcher[s] in the rye” that is preventing the American public from falling off a cliff into ignorance. (Bnet.com disagrees.)
The editor urged news consumers to examine their priorities. “We have to decide, are we ready to get what we’re willing to pay for? And if you’re not going to pay for news, then you’re going to get a different kind of news,” he said.
News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch recently proposed a digital subscription model that would affect newspapers such as The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal. That led to a recent discussion with colleagues (including fellow BTP blogger Tanya) on whether we would be willing to pay $20 a month to read The New York Times. Would you?
But check this out: according to The Atlantic, a senior executive at Google.com, which Murdoch and others have held responsible for the current crisis, says the company is now looking at how to save the news business “for commercial as well as civic reasons.” Google realizes that “if news organizations stop producing great journalism … the search engine will no longer have interesting content to link to.”
Is there a link between an informed citizenry and commercial profit? The cynic in me is finally seeing room for hope.