A somewhat long but interesting article on the power of the reader in the internet age. In the past, advertising dollars funded the big news outlets and journalistic integrity was a real thing.
Coupla quotes;
Then, as ad money abandoned the print media at the beginning of this century, journalists were suddenly left face-to-face with readers, with no time to adjust. As readers began calling the shots in ways that advertisers never did, these standards—especially objectivity and the restrictions on conflicts of interest—have fallen out of favor.
And this one;
The media industry still hasn’t fully reflected on how the rapid switch from ad revenue to reader revenue dramatically changed journalism. And not only has this seismic shift in the business model coincided with a sharp decline in the business, but it’s also gone unnoticed by many people inside the industry and critics on the outside.
