Thread by @MrJoshuaWilson

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Thanks for asking. Multi-part answer here. :) First, consider that journalism practice exists in one of two economic spheres, commercial or philanthropic, each with distinct but connected legal/regulatory structures that are rooted in the political nature of capital.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf In the commercial sphere. news is a product and it must thrive as such in the marketplace, which today is the attention economy. As a news producer you must create demand within that marketplace in order to convert customers for the product.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf In the philanthropic sphere, news is ostensibly a public service, but it has to satisfy the demands of the private entities and individuals who dispense philanthropic capital — who have wide latitude to act within IRS 501(c)3 regulatory structures.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf In both cases, the values of capital — of capitalism, in other words — define access to financial resources for producing news. Capitalism is a form of political economy, and as such it affects the product, the process and the audience for journalism.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf This has a reductive effect, such that an essential public service — the production of essential information necessary for democratic enfranchisement, good governance, accountability, etc. — must compete in the attention economy against lolcats, QAnon, and regular entertainment.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Thus, "news" becomes an optional product with a weird class-based skew. Middle-class and up apparently is good for reader revenue. Low income/immigrant/working class, not so much. Why is that?

@GibranAshraf @jgksf In fact, the impacts of financing and "the values of capital" on news production and news audiences is *deeply unexamined*. But I'm willing to bet that it's a political issue, defined by our political economy and, clearly, the politics of class.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Meanwhile, journalism is flailing. Over the past two decades several thousand newspapers have tanked. Hedge funds are picking at the carcasses. Tens upon tens of thousands of newspaper jobs are gone.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Nonprofit news media are doing some neat stuff, and the sector is growing, but it's by the inch, not the mile, and in no way is it showing potential to fill the gap left by the old commercial news sector — which already underserved populations along class lines, BTW.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf All of this is a product of the political economy. The values of philanthropy, which are largely derivative of the values of commercial capitalism, have committed to the idea that news nonprofits must compete in the market for customers, with a little bake-sale charity thrown in.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf But what if the marketplace is an absolutely terrible place to attempt to build a news sector that can truly serve the public interest, hold power accountable, and build public support for its journalistic practice?

@GibranAshraf @jgksf If so, then perhaps news financing needs to take place in a more elemental arena. Not the marketplace, but the public commons.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf So, the point of this insanely long thread is that maybe newsrooms need to engage in community organizing rather than creating demand.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Like a political campaign. Don't talk about the product. Talk about whether the community is getting an essential service that will be denied to them unless they self-organize to provide financial support to news producers they can trust.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Go door to door. Set up a table outside school-board meetings. Go to church socials. Do presentations to the Rotarians, the Lions Club, etc. Organize the community in the ground.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Be straightforward about news production as a mechanism for accountability that needs to be independent of financial influence and "institutional corruption" (per Lessig).

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Set high standards and emphasize the importance of that keystone issue, trust. It's not about giving the people what they want, it's about inspiring their trust in a practice that has been tainted by institutional corruption, commercially and philanthropically.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf For me personally, I see co-op organizing as a key factor. Consumer/buyer-style co-ops are the unexplored avenue. Producer and worker co-ops have potential but still struggle with market-oriented financing issues.

@GibranAshraf @jgksf An interesting community-side co-op strategy around real estate is emerging in Oakland that I think has relevance for organizing community capital to support local information needs. Check this out:

shareable.net/real-estate-co…

@GibranAshraf @jgksf Thanks for bearing with me and putting up with this highly digressive tweetstorm. I hope there are some useful considerations to be gleaned from it! I gotta tighten this whole thesis up ...