Not going to lie, the best thing about today's lecture was the fact we got Jelly Belly's. However, I also learnt some valuable information about the future of news media and the concept of entitlement. (I was visibly upset when Bruce told us to hand the Jelly Belly's back)
Basically, the major problem facing journalism in this decade is the accessibility of online news. We've been given free access to news and as a result developed a sense of entitlement for it. Now, when everyone realizes they can't afford to give things away for free, it's a little too late and the public are up in arms. In my opinion, the way forward is initiatives like the TIMES+ online newspaper which is offering discounted deals in addition to their news for a small subscription fee. This is the future of online media. I also believe that online news sources need to work together to change the way online media works. If you think about it, if EVERYONE started going 'behind the paywall' readers wouldn't have a choice but to start paying for news but all it takes is one website who decides they can keep giving it away and everyone will simply flock to that one.
The second option here is to increase the quality of payed news and decrease the credibility of free-to-read pages. There's nothing people hate more than an unreliable news source, combine that with billions of ads smothering the news story and people will walk away. Especially when the alternative is well-written, insightful and add-free journalism.
With Web 3.0 on the rise, the opportunities for a paid online news source are endless. Suddenly, information about individuals likes and needs is at the fingertips of advertisers. It's a dream come true for commercial industries and even media sources can now project their stories at a target audience. The concern that people will become ignorant about general knowledge? Can't see it happening. People enjoy seeming educated and well-read on current affairs and for that reason they will seek out the major headlines no matter what.
So there you go, Journo's of the future unite. Either we all pay or no-one does. Never mind that people feel entitled to news for free, things change and we need to face this change together. At the end of the day, people want and need current affairs and quality journalism.
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