Posted by Across the globe, dictators and aspiring autocrats have seized power or are vying for electoral victory, some faking the election act. The unchecked intrusion into private lives by both governments and corporations, disregarding the sanctity outlined in Article 12 of the Human Rights Declaration, has reached alarming proportions. Propaganda now masquerades not as alternative perspectives on facts but boldly as alternative facts—a surreal turn of events. Wars either erupt or loom ominously before our incredulous eyes. Populism, once relegated to the fringes of reason, now proclaims audacious solutions to perplexing issues, often targeting specific groups. Governments stand by as vital social structures, such as healthcare and welfare, are dismantled by profit-driven interests, leaving the populace vulnerable. Rampant corruption, both legal through lobbying and illicit, funnels substantial sums from taxpayers to the privileged few. Corporations exploit loopholes and tax havens, exacerbating the chasm of inequality. The advent of AI threatens not only our workplaces and perceptions of reality but also our retirement funding.
Amidst all this, the looming specter of a climate emergency, a perilous global catastrophe, intensifies inexorably as we grapple with conflicts, inflation, and social unrest.
In this tumultuous landscape, who stands as the sentinel against the impending collapse of civilization? The free and independent press, one might hope. Yet, regrettably, this bastion of truth is teetering on the precipice of demise.
The blame, it seems, lies squarely on the shoulders of two culpable sides—not three, because it isn’t the public’s fault.
Firstly, those who stand to gain directly from the obliteration of a free press—the foes of democracy, dictators, and special interests clandestinely safeguarding their transgressions. These purveyors of malevolence now label any press that refuses to yield to their whims as purveyors of “Fake News.” This assault on the press, unimaginable just a decade ago, has become a global contagion, a telltale sign of malevolent forces at play.
Astoundingly, the second party at fault is none other than the free and independent press itself—a self-inflicted wound, if you will. To sustain itself, the press must offer relevant, high-quality, informative, and entertaining content at a reasonable price, in a convenient manner, catering to readers’ desires and fostering a willingness to pay. Unfortunately, except for rare exceptions, we witness a scarcity of pertinent content from a diminishing number of publishers. The scarcity of relevant quality content becomes both a cause and consequence of dwindling financial resources.
The press’s Achilles’ heel lies in its ill-fated quest to become a data-driven enterprise, relying solely on data analysis to propel the business in a single direction: subscriptions.
Deprived of advertising revenue the giant tech companies, the press succumbed to the allure of more tech companies, convincing them that their future lay in capturing visitor data and secure credit card information for an auto-renewal scheme. This predatory business model, however, fails to resonate with readers, who shun subscription schemes in a world marked by uncertainty and intense competition namely from streaming services. Online newspapers, bundled with unwanted content, further alienate readers, who perceive subscriptions as a squandering of their hard-earned money.
In a time when obscured interests, political and financial, thrive on misinformation or a complete lack of information to subjugate us, where is the press—the essential weapon of self-protection alongside the vote? Alas, it is mismanaged, entangled in a data-driven, cookie-fed, first-party data extravaganza, and a credit card auto-renewal crave, all working against the very interests of its readers.
No industry thrives selling what people reject, especially in ways they refuse to pay for. Yet, press managers and directors persist in this futile endeavor, clinging to a belief that has persisted for close to two decades now.
It is high time for a wake-up call! Selling subscriptions to one percent of your visitors, or less, will not yield sufficient revenue to sustain the salaries of your journalists. The trajectory is clear—change course, or face closure!
It is 2024, and we depend on your newspaper for our very survival!
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