For those interested in further reading, I highly recommend this article by Brian Curtis at The Ringer (he also co-hosts a really good media podcast called The Press Box). Writer-owned...
For those interested in further reading, I highly recommend this article by Brian Curtis at The Ringer (he also co-hosts a really good media podcast called The Press Box).
Writer-owned publications aren't the only solution to this problem. In fact, I worry that they would have trouble staying afloat without the support of very wealthy backers. Moreover, quality investigative journalism requires a ton of resources. Writer-owned publications would be very limited in that field.
It's upsetting that so many publications are being sold to people who clearly don't give a shit about journalism. Journalism, like healthcare and education, is an industry where a person's salary or a company's profit should not be seen as the most important thing. It should be seen as a calling. Anyone who owns a media publication that takes itself remotely seriously should be focused primarily on producing quality content. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, which is how we've ended up with these zombie publications and why so many local newspapers have collapsed or been gutted over the past few decades. While I worry about the conflicts of interest that come with a guy like Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post, that might be the best option we have right now since he has deep pockets and a completely separate source of income.
In the meantime, we need to continue to seek out and support quality writing and avoid the shit factories that pump out lists, shallow reaction pieces, and other mindless content that these rich fucks think is so important.
We have worker owned media. They're called blogs. So long as media is a job (which I can't see a way around) then media needs to be monetised, and monetisation is either the driver of or the...
We have worker owned media. They're called blogs.
So long as media is a job (which I can't see a way around) then media needs to be monetised, and monetisation is either the driver of or the leverage allowing media corruption and capture.
For those interested in further reading, I highly recommend this article by Brian Curtis at The Ringer (he also co-hosts a really good media podcast called The Press Box).
Writer-owned publications aren't the only solution to this problem. In fact, I worry that they would have trouble staying afloat without the support of very wealthy backers. Moreover, quality investigative journalism requires a ton of resources. Writer-owned publications would be very limited in that field.
It's upsetting that so many publications are being sold to people who clearly don't give a shit about journalism. Journalism, like healthcare and education, is an industry where a person's salary or a company's profit should not be seen as the most important thing. It should be seen as a calling. Anyone who owns a media publication that takes itself remotely seriously should be focused primarily on producing quality content. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, which is how we've ended up with these zombie publications and why so many local newspapers have collapsed or been gutted over the past few decades. While I worry about the conflicts of interest that come with a guy like Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post, that might be the best option we have right now since he has deep pockets and a completely separate source of income.
In the meantime, we need to continue to seek out and support quality writing and avoid the shit factories that pump out lists, shallow reaction pieces, and other mindless content that these rich fucks think is so important.
We have worker owned media. They're called blogs.
So long as media is a job (which I can't see a way around) then media needs to be monetised, and monetisation is either the driver of or the leverage allowing media corruption and capture.