If it wasn’t already obvious that the media industry was in dire straits before the coronavirus came along, it has become abundantly obvious now. Every day, it seems, news outlets large and small are announcing waves of furloughs, salary cuts, and layoffs for significant numbers of their employees—the Los Angeles Times, Tribune Publishing, Conde Nast, BuzzFeed, McClatchy (which had already filed for bankruptcy before the pandemic), even Fox Corp. have all implemented cuts. Protocol, a tech news startup launched by the owners of Politico, in February, just laid off almost half its newsroom. Some local newspapers have shut down completely and may not be able to return once the economy picks up. What can be done about this? Should there be a government bailout? Should digital platforms like Google and Facebook be forced to subsidize a public fund for media? To hear some answers, CJR convened a virtual panel on Galley, our discussion platform. “It is now abundantly clear that there is no commercial solution for local journalism,” Victor Pickard, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of a recent book, Democracy Without Journalism, said. “Local journalism was in shambles even before the pandemic struck. But now the newspaper industry—which is still our major source for original local reporting in the US—is facing existential doom. Given that context, we need immediate emergency funding.” Pickard went on to say that any funds handed out should be... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-04-24 11:57:00 UTC ]
Written By: Anja Sieg Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 12:10 Bertelsmann's Direct Group is to open to the public all of the retail stores operated by its ailing German book club operation Der Club. Previously the group allowed only members into the chain, a strategy which impacted a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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