Paying For News
What I read: Are You Willing to Pay for the News? (The Midweek Question) by Dan Rather in the Steady newsletter. Published March 3, 2021.
Dan Rather is not only a journalist I respect but he has in recent years become a vitally important voice about our nation’s politics and culture. In his article, Rather highlights a troubling development that has also concerned me considerably. Our respected newspapers, magazines and news sites are struggling to remain solvent and functional in a world where many believe their news should be free.
During the challenging four years that Trump was in office I made sure to subscribe to a few respected national publications: The Washington Post; The Atlantic; Teen Vogue (yes, they do great journalism too); The New Yorker; Mother Jones, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, and others. I did the same with a few local publications. I believe solid and diverse investigative journalism is necessary to ensure our democracy remains strong.
Of course, a well-informed citizenry is not only important because of political issues. American culture and communities thrive best when they are comprised of people who remain educated and informed about all types of news and developments impacting every sector of our daily human experience.
Journalism is not free and Rather strongly makes this case. If the American people want good investigative reporting, foreign affairs coverage, and news and information they can trust, it costs money. Someone must pay for it.
In an era where advertising is not typically covering the costs of producing a publication and paying for the qualified staff necessary to optimally function, subscription models are certainly needed, but as Rather points out when he references the Current Affairs article, The Truth Is Paywalled But The Likes Are Free, relying on only free content is problematic.
Quality content often lives behind a quite justifiable paywall while disinformation and conspiracy theories are spewed forth for free. As Nathan J. Robinson writes in the Current Affairs piece,
This doesn’t mean the paywall shouldn’t be there. But it does mean that it costs time and money to access a lot of true and important information, while a lot of bullshit is completely free.
As Robinson articulates in his piece, even quality content from respected news sources for which you pay can still fall prey to inaccuracies or ever-present bias from which none of us can ultimately escape. So, not only is it important to pay for and read one publication, but if one is financially able, several of them with differing perspectives so that the sum of the reporting and commentary settles in your brain into a truer picture of the issue.
Cross referencing multiple publications is not always easy. In fact, it is sometimes hard work. So be it. It is a small price to pay to live in a functional democracy. Although I am the first to admit our system needs fixing. (Check out RepresentUs. I think they have a great plan and strategy.)
Rather asks of his readers these questions. They are questions with which we must all struggle.
What do you think of paying for journalism?
What publications do you subscribe to?
Would you be willing to consider and experiment with other methods of support?
I ask you to consider these questions for yourself.
For me, because it is one of my priorities and I am financially able to do so, subscribing to an assortment of publications and sites is a duty to help protect our democracy and to create a better society. Ignorance serves no one. Echo chamber, single source news serves no one. The opinions and commentary of just one person serves no one. Diversity is always a strength and that includes our news and information sources.
Let us keep our democracy strong. We do that by remaining informed and engaged. The first step to being informed is to read quality reporting that elevates our national discourse.
I also recommend subscribing to Dan Rather’s Steady newsletter. He never disappoints.