The Value of News: Aligning Economic and Social Value From an Institutional Perspective
Terry Flew,
Agata Stepnik
Abstract:Journalism is considered essential to a functioning democracy. However, the continued viability of commercial news production is uncertain. News producers continue to lose advertising revenue to platform businesses dominating digital advertising markets, and alternate consumer direct revenue streams are not yet meeting the financial shortfall. This has led to questions of who should pay for news, the role of governments in maintaining news production viability, and whether digital platforms have social or econ… Show more
This editorial introduces our thematic issue, titled <em>Examining New Models in Journalism Funding</em>, at a pivotal time. While news companies have attempted to build sustainable business models, we have not yet seen a major leap forward. As observed by the authors of this issue, digital reader revenue has become a prominent source of income for many publishers, but the bulk of them continue to rely on advertising and print subscriptions for money. Recently, Google and Facebook have become major funders of news and innovation in journalism. Some governments have also launched specific support programs. After providing some background context, we introduce the articles featured in the issue. We go on to argue that these articles signal a renewed interest in the business of journalism, which will help us better understand the ongoing financial crisis in the commercial news sector at a more granular level.
This editorial introduces our thematic issue, titled <em>Examining New Models in Journalism Funding</em>, at a pivotal time. While news companies have attempted to build sustainable business models, we have not yet seen a major leap forward. As observed by the authors of this issue, digital reader revenue has become a prominent source of income for many publishers, but the bulk of them continue to rely on advertising and print subscriptions for money. Recently, Google and Facebook have become major funders of news and innovation in journalism. Some governments have also launched specific support programs. After providing some background context, we introduce the articles featured in the issue. We go on to argue that these articles signal a renewed interest in the business of journalism, which will help us better understand the ongoing financial crisis in the commercial news sector at a more granular level.
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