Eicher on the state of News Media

"Major news organizations relied on advertisers—rather than readers, listeners, or viewers—to fund operations. Using lowest-common-denominator content, they attracted mass audiences, sold them to advertisers, and severed the relationship between journalism and the people. The ad revenue model of financing news-gathering has crumbled and may not recover. Up against (1) an ailing economy, (2) a revolution of new technologies, and (3) a widespread public perception that their products lack journalistic integrity, elite news executives find themselves with little audience loyalty. This may help explain a movement among some industry insiders—as well as liberal activists—to push for taxpayer funding of newsrooms. It will likely come in the form of an expansion of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. One proponent, former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr., recommends Congress rename CPB the Corporation for Public Media, and fund it more lavishly." World, Nikolas Eicher

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16062