Monday’s Note by Frédéric Filloux nails the issues news organizations face and the results of journalism’s changing business model.
Highlights are:
- The public’s appetite for information has never been greater.
- At the same time, due to crumbling business models, editorial resources within news organizations are depleting fast.
- Opinion makers have changed.
- Today, a large chunk of the news cycle is controlled by legions of digital serfs …
- Contents are now tailored for the needs of digital media.
- Tools are morphing in the same fashion.
Filloux notes that most journalists are not able to evaluate the news giving increasing control over the message by corporations. For example, content prepared by corporations is being re-published by news organizations as is.
Since distribution channels are the same by companies to both news organizations, consumers, bloggers, etc., many news organizations no longer see a role as being the first group to clarify the message.
The clarification role has greater value, but the demand for that is lower, and the cost of producing it higher, so the ability or willingness to supply it is less too.