Week 8 Response

In my first question this week, I asked if the media could get people to pay for content using subscription or pay-as-you go models, or if a new system would have to be invented.  The State of the Media report suggests that people will not pay for content.  However, I think that this will have to change over the next few years.  The current business model is not working, and something has to be done.  I think that in order for change to be affective, many of the major news outlets will need to follow the same model, forcing people to pay for their content.  Some people will still go to blogs and other sources, but most will adapt.  Just as we all adapted to paying per song on iTunes, we will learn to deal with the new system.

In my second question I noticed that when citizen journalists were polled about their motivations, money rated very low.  Yet, when asked about future needs, money and creating a business model was rated very high.  I was curious for this discrepancy.  I believe that this is also a sign of how things will be changing in the next few years.   Like the changes that will most likely take place in traditional news as discussed in the first question, citizen journalism publications will need to adapt as well.  People want to make money on things that they invest so much time in, like a journalism blog.  This may not mean that viewers will have to pay for the content, but maybe more ads will appear, or bloggers will find another way to make money.

In my final question I asked if it was possible that traditional news outlets, such as newspapers, will completely forgo their original format and go entirely online.  I do not think that this will happen any time soon.  First of all, newspapers still get a significant amount of revenue from ads in their print edition, and many of these advertisers do not want to pay for online ad space.  In addition, there are still people who want to pay for a print copy, and expect the quality of that paper to be consistent.  Maybe in a few decades when the generations that grew up reading the newspaper at the breakfast table are gone, there will no longer be a need for newspapers, but I don’t think that day will be here anytime soon.

Tags: response, state of media