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Newspapers Need Not Fear the Reaper

It seems that the continuing writer’s strike is making people anxious and nervous. With growing access to free online content, shouldn’t all writers - from film to television to newspapers - be compensated fairly for their content accessed on the Internet?

David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times thinks so. He’s worried that as more newspapers tear down their walled gardens and give full access to all readers online, giving away information for free is setting up for the demise of traditional newspaper journalism as we know it (or as we knew it).

However, therein lies the rub. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, traditional newspapers need to adapt to web publishing. For good or for bad, online media is the new game and traditional print publishers need to find innovative ways to play.

Mr. Lazarus might be excited to learn that online media marketplaces like Mochila are making an impact in the lives of journalists, illustrators, and photographers.

Mochila’s marketplace offers a one-stop shopping initiative for all types of publications, from larger media outlets to blogs. In exchange, those who provide said content will not only benefit from revenue generated, but also from increased access to their content across a variety of diverse distribution channels.

Online media marketplaces allow sellers control over price, licensing rules, embargoes, and exclusions. Sellers can then generate revenue while driving brand awareness, print circulation, and web traffic while also extending their reach across markets.

I agree with Mr. Lazarus that “newspapers at the very least must acknowledge that their content has value”, but I also think that journalists should seek out other venues to promote their work. Online media marketplaces allow web publishers and advertisers to distinguish the “quality journalism from utter hokum”.

This separation will help increase the value of content for what it contributes to the “electronic ether”, regardless of whether it is written by a veteran newspaper journalist or a citizen blogger.

All of us have grown accustomed to getting our news for free, but that doesn’t mean journalism is dead. It’s just entering a new phase.

One thing is for certain: if traditional media does not try to adapt or refuses to play, it will be dead.