A diplomat he’s not, but Rupert Murdoch, the world’s most successful journalism entrepreneur, hits the nail on the head regarding the failure of contemporary newspapers to attract enough customers to stay in business:
“I can’t tell you how many papers I have visited where they have a wall of journalism prizes—and a rapidly declining circulation. This tells me the editors are producing news for themselves—instead of news that is relevant to their customers. A news organization’s most important asset is the trust it has with its readers, a bond that reflects the readers’ confidence that editors are looking out for their needs and interests.”
Mainstream media outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post are laying off editors and reporters by the hundreds as circulation dwindles and advertising revenues follow suit. The problem is not entirely of their making (they can thank Al Gore for “inventing” the “information superhighway” for a huge part of it), but it all began decades ago when elite journalists decided their real task was to interpret and filter the news, not report it accurately, fairly, and with respect for those paying to receive it.
Murdoch deals with the question of government subsidies and much else in his oped, which ought to be required reading for everybody in the news business or who hopes to see it survive.
