I’m nine days late to this post by Reno blogger Ryan Jerz – and the subsequent discussion in his Comments section - on whether internet access to news content is, or should be, a “right,” and whether or not it is moral to charge for it. With U.S. print newspapers dying in droves and our own Las Vegas papers reportedly suffering, it’s a timely debate.
Here’s Ryan’s sum up:
I think anyone saying that news organizations should charge for access is a complete moron. As soon as there is yet another financial barrier to getting information that’s supposedly important to societies, you lose another group of people that (in the case of important information) should get access to it. If a well informed public is a more active and engaged public, who the hell in their right mind would advocate the taking of information away from that public? Besides politicians, of course.
Comments then ensue about how people have always paid for news via the print media but are accustomed to getting online info free, how news sources need to pay their news reporters but can’t if they aren’t being paid for content or generating enough ad dollars, how stupid it was for newspapers to start bundling their web ads with print ads (which de-valued web ads in the minds of ad buyers), and how to keep non-subsidized news sources independent. Among others.
I’m curious to see how things will work out for the print and online press in the next 5 to 10 years. Whatever else, I predict that foundations and 501 organizations interested in achieving accountability-in-government though media and journalism will start offering grant money to start up and maintain independent online newspapers. Newspapers may be dying, but those who love liberty cannot allow journalism to go with it.
If you have an interest and/or an opinon, read Ryan’s post and drop a Comment – or drop one here for me.
