This article from Adbusters Magazine details the decline of reporting in America. It talks of Journalism going from a necessary part of America and the democratic process to now being comparable to a mail-order catalog. The decline of traditional media also coincides with the increase of citizen journalism. Sites such as NowPublic.org are the new adversaries of the corporate press. As reporting continues to be watered down, America is going to suffer. Democratic process is based in the fact that the citizens are receiving the information necessary to make decisions. How can that still function if the media is compromised?
The problem, according to the article, is that corporations running newspapers insist on high profit margins. "According to the International Newspaper Financial Executives, the average major newspaper makes a 15.6 percent pre-tax profit. The Tribune Company, which own the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, has a 21.4 percent pre-tax profit margin. In contrast, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest corporation, operates at a 5.4 percent profit margin. Although the media is suffering from major revenue loses, the gutting of the public watchdog is happening because media corporations are insisting on maintaining the same extreme margins."
The press used to be a watchdog, and now it is becoming a lapdog. Where is the outcry against this? An interesting section of the article states "While they’re still confronted with the same problem of attracting an audience in the digital age, because non-profits funnel revenue back into their projects, they offer the media at least one formula for stability. 'The media can be done as a non-profit and it’s something that makes me salivate when I think about it,' "
What are your thoughts? Should the media be treated as a business where profit margins are the only thing that matters? Is the decline in true investigative journalism a problem? What about the idea of media as a non-profit? The article raises a ton of questions regarding the future of journalism. As the whorification of the media continues, should we fight it? Or should we lean back in our chairs and wait for an answer to present itself?
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2 comments:
Yes, a lot of newspapers have been lapdogs. They indulge in "boosterism" of this town, or that, as opposed to holding elected officials accountable.
I think there will always be a need for trained, professional journalists. Future scribes may write for a different medium, e.g. the web.
But the public will need more than "citizen journalism," which is little more than hearsay. Gossip. A personal diary.
I recently heard about a newspaper canceling their print version, and was shocked. A newspaper with a delivery size of around 30,000 is now to rely on the Internet to spread the news. I think print newspapers should still be around. They provide jobs, and real news. If I was unclear of something I read online, I know if I saw it in a paper, I would believe it. Journalists have a job to provide the news, and also to realize not everyone can afford a computer to stay on top of the news. What happens when there is breaking news about a school item and parents need to know. Where are the watchdogs then?
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