1/ Democracies around the world are all mired in one crisis or another. Distortions in information ecosystems is one reason why. Big ideas for ways to funnel billions of dollars back into journalism are rare- it’s time to take a gamble on more than one.
technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
2/ Such an idea rose to the world’s attention this week: an Australian law that would compel search and social media platforms to pay news organizations through an arbitration mechanism, an approach now being considered by lawmakers in other governments. technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
3/ But in view of the objections to this approach, what other options exist? If new subscription models are not enough to sustain the media industry, what else can be done to push billions of dollars back into journalism?technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
4/ A raft of ideas can be found in a decade old FTC report that found “reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism.” So the authors went on to look for other pots of gold. technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
5/ One idea is A=a spectrum auction tax that would mine the profits of mobile operators and broadcasters by taxing the licenses they purchase for the right to operate on specific frequencies, with the proceeds going to some kind of public media fund. technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
6/ Another is advertising taxes. Rather than forcing tech platforms to pay news companies directly, governments could simply assess a tax on digital advertising. Maryland has just put forward a proposed law, which would pay for education. It may be a model.technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
7/ I propose creating a quasi-governmental journalism foundation created with proceeds from privacy and antitrust violation fees assessed by the FTC and FCC against the tech giants. technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
8/ Lawmakers such as @davidcicilline have put forward good ideas that would increase bargaining power for news organizations similar to the Australian scheme. technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
9/ It's time to try some things. We'll get to see how the Australian law works in practice, since it is certain to pass. And it's time to get creative and propose other government interventions to move mountains of money back into journalism. technologyreview.com/2021/02/20/101…
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