Tech Dissenter

Franklin Foer’s autobiographical article in the most recent issue of The Atlantic presents a fascinating case study of how the “attention economy” created by the monetization of the Internet distorted the journalistic output of a once-storied American political journal. Foer’s misadventures as editor of The New Republic are just one example of the familiar story of how the migration of content to the Internet damaged the revenue mechanisms of traditional newspapers and periodicals. Nevertheless, the specific details in Foer’s tale are compelling and instructive.

As most non-millennials likely recall, magazines such as TNR were once almost exclusively sold as complete issues (released on a weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly basis) containing several articles by various contributors. Readers bought them through a subscription or at the newsstand.

The journalism industry has faced a fundamental dilemma after most content moved onto the Internet. There are two major ways to create revenue on the web: through subscribers to your site, or through advertising. Some major newspapers have tried to gain subscribers through limiting access via various versions of the paywall, and many of them now seem to be finding more success with that model by allowing everyone temporary access to a limited number of free articles before blocking further access to non-subscribers.

Continue reading How The Commercial Pressures of the Web Warped Journalism

This is a wonky and non-partisan blog. Polemics are “off brand” for me. But today’s post raises some legitimate concerns I have about the plummeting trust in most news media sources today, and if it seems like a bit of a rant, it’s probably because I have a personal history with journalism and I’m passionate about trying to uphold the integrity of the profession.

I was a journalism major during my undergraduate years. I never thought of it as a controversial thing. I grew up in a very traditional and conservative state, but being a “reporter” never seemed like an occupational choice that would raise eyebrows or cause social disapproval, the way announcing plans to be an “avant-garde artist” or “vegan activist” or “founder of a nudist colony” or “socialist organizer” would have.

To the contrary, local journalists, on TV and in the newspaper, were generally popular and well-respected where I grew up. There was more skepticism about potential bias from the national media, but no one I knew dismissed network nightly news as sheer lies and propaganda. People still relied on national news sources for information and facts about the world, while (understandably and commendably) maintaining independent critical thinking about what it all meant.

Continue reading Crisis of Media Legitimacy in the Digital Age