Google Needs To Support Journalists... Claims Journalist
from the why-not-fix-it? dept
We've seen quite a few stories lately of folks in the newspaper business blaming Google and insisting that somehow the internet is at fault for their own inability to adapt to the times. The latest is a journalism professor who has written an opinion piece for the San Francisco Chronicle that basically repeats that same tired line and then seems to claim that Google has some sort of moral responsibility to support the journalism business. This is a bizarre line of arguing, akin to the idea that Henry Ford should have started supporting horseshoe makers, since his Model T Ford decreased demand for shoeing horses. The arguments about the death of good reporting are first based on a myth about the history of reporting (ignoring yellow journalism of the past) and supported with an equally incorrect myth that less reporting goes on today (and that the so-called "basement bloggers" in the column never do any reporting). There's no denying that reporters can and often do an important and valuable service. However, if there's demand for serious reporting then someone can and will figure out the business models that can support it. In fact, while the traditional newspaper men whine and stomp their feet, plenty of others are already working on the business models that will support a next generation of reporting -- and it won't involve begging Google for money.
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What a nimrod
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If I read his article, does that mean
Edison must pay the candle makers when he invents the lightbulb. Where have all the TV repairmen gone? Google must be to blame for that also (youTube). PCs and rack-mounted Linux blades put SUN out of business, I mean will put Sun out of the workstation business; who should pay SUN for thier loss.
Textile workers lost their jobs to lower wage China works, China should be supporting those out of work loomers.
Aluminum cans put the bottle makers out of business.
Fridigiare put the ice delivery man out of business.
PCs put the typewriter out of business;
Calculators put the Abacus out of business.
The Internet, Blogs, interactive and quick posted web-sites put the traditional news reports out of business.
Who should pay to support these old technologies?
In the imortal words of the young, oh waaa.
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Re: If I read his article, does that mean
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maybe
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Re: maybe
I don't care about reading someone else's opinions. I read print newspaper, and other reputable online news sources, for the facts that they research and print. I do not care, for the most part, to read opinion masquerading as fact.
The difference between reading opinion articles (except for Op-Ed / commentary) pieces is that I am usually getting a well-researched article that provides me with a good in-depth analysis and fact.
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Hah
It's a good thing they allow Google to steal their content! I imagine that makes the stealing almost like not stealing at all!
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another problem with newspapers
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Money for nothing ...
The "business model" publishers are after appears to be "Get material as cheaply as possible (preferably free) and hope readers buy copies and respond to ads," with no real effort expended on attracting readers. It is no wonder that newspaper and periodical publishing are hurting.
Of course the publishers have forgotten the old addage: "If you want to make money, spend money." Pay writers for material that will attract readers. (And there's the solution to the journalist's problem.) There is no magic formula that is going to make readers think that reprinted propaganda, advertising, and public domain material is original or interesting.
It's like the rest of Internet business--there's this persistent myth that there just has to be a way to make money from the Internet without putting in any money or effort, because the Internet is the Internet. Right. But it ain't happenin', no matter how you big a lever you use on your para-dij-ems. If you're delivering crap, delivering it in a different way doesen't make it something else.
--Mike
http://www.michaelabanks.com
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Re: Money for nothing ...
Since when did "new business models" become narrowly defined as a different way of "delivering crap?"
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Ironic?
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