The means for which news can be “broadcast” has throughout history dictated to way in which the income and therefore the longevity of forms of journalism has been gained.
Printing presses were in the hands of the few who could afford the capital to produced newspapers for example. With few sources of print media charging for copies could be made as the scarcity of the production was allowed this.
The Internet has put the ability to “BROADCAST” into the hands of everyone with a computer for little or no cost. Therefore scarcity of “BROADCASTING” has eliminated scarcity of supply.
What we do have through the internet is the ability to measure what is read, how often, by who and build amazing profiles for readers (in real time) that we have never had before.
Therefore the future income for journalism lies in the following:
1. Which journalist (note not what agency they belong too) do readers/viewers “like” and interact with. This can be measured and there for quantified
2. Turn this quantification into a product for advertising and influence (for example a corporate ad would pay more for a journalist with proven readership than one without)
3. Allow readers to select their own sources (with suggestions from agencies) and build their own papers/collection
4. Journalists would take a cut from the advertising that they can accumulate due to their proven stats with readerships.
5. If a journalist is proven to be innacurrate, un-researched etc, the web with spread in real time their failure for standards and therefore readership will drop and so will their revenue.
6. Newspapers should therefore build online and mobile applications to allow readership to build their own papers, choose from a selection of sources, and share advertising revenue with the journalists… Newspapers can give readers access and recommend journalists from alternate sources they discover and aid in the distribution of sources rather than the distribution of news.
Newspapers should remove themselves from being a Broadcaster of news to a developer of sources and allow the reader to congregate sources, while providing and developing the advertising platform, statistic measuring and income collection and distribution.
Can you imagine a journalist being able to eBAY his 3 advertising slots every week in their written pieces. Their statistics would allow advertisers to evaluate and out bid each other to ride the influence/readership. Dynamic, measureable and the ability to earn would have no cap/salary limitations.
Just a thought.
