Episode 206: Good News For News?

September 28, 2022

Central Thesis

The immediate threat to public discourse is not primarily "misinformation" but the economic collapse of newspapers due to tech companies stealing ad revenue. Restoring newspaper profitability via antitrust legislation (Journalism Competition and Preservation Bill) is a necessary, albeit imperfect, first step toward a healthier information ecosystem.

Key Arguments

• Newspapers are dying. The Australian experience demonstrates that forcing tech platforms to fairly compensate newspapers for content can revitalize the industry, leading to more reporting jobs and a more robust press.
• Advertising is still necessary. While ad-supported media is problematic, the immediate need is to ensure revenue reaches content creators. The current advertising market favors tech giants over newspapers, creating a dysfunctional system.
• Too few outlets weaken checks on authority. The concentration of media ownership and understaffing of newsrooms lead to journalists becoming "stenographers to the powerful" rather than watchdogs, limiting critical reporting and fact-checking.
• Centralized censorship is a dangerous alternative. The host rejects the idea that tech companies should act as arbiters of truth. He sees a diverse press, even one funded by advertising, as a better check on disinformation than centralized control.
• Alternative funding models are ideal but impractical now. Publicly owned or employee-owned newspapers would be better, but are not feasible as immediate solutions. The current crisis requires immediate action, making ad revenue redistribution a necessary compromise.

Notable Passages

• "Australia is asserting the rule of law against a monopolist. In response, Fuckbook said, We are more powerful than your democratic officials."
• "...the revenues from ads are not getting to content creators like they used to and so they are not worth our money unless you invest in things such as compus right as well hard percent we just had some long nights viens from a country departmentigneforceddo's And so they, and the news they try to write, are falling apart."
• "The intense paranoia about disinformation is a result of the narrowing of the economic and political basis of news. our papers are today's stenographers to the powerful. They have become the lackeys, if not the vassals of officialdom."
• "...if we can get lots of professional reporters reporting news professionally, instead of playing stenographic vassal and regurgitating information from whomever happens to be standing at a podium, every news outlet, from our local radio and television, to our national cable news, to our national broadcast television news, even down to our handheld, mesmerizing mirrors of distraction, will all be filled with, hopefully, a bit less suck."

Rhetorical Approach

The host employs a mix of historical analysis (Beowulf, Tocqueville), current events analysis (Australian law, Journalism Competition and Preservation Bill), sardonic humor ("Zuckerfuck," "the Shit River"), extended analogies (Antarctic food chain), and direct address to the listener, to build his case. He frames the argument as a pragmatic compromise, acknowledging the imperfections of ad-supported media while emphasizing the urgency of the situation.

Connections

• Matt Stoller's Big newsletter
• Robert McChesney and John Nichols' The Death and Life of American Journalism
• Victor Picard's advocacy for public media funding
• Episode 92, "Forget the Bathtub" (Cambridge Analytica)
• Episode 185: WTN Destabilizing Our Collective Understanding
• Previous discussion of monetary creation with KMO from the Sea Realm podcast