Opinion: when it come to funding journalism, there are a number of options on the table, from reader subscriptions to State support
Facebook's drastic decision to ban Australian media outlets was another twist in a long-running conflict between tech companies and news publishers. While that spat now appears resolved, it highlights the debate about how quality journalism is critical to a functioning democracy. Journalism asks questions of the powerful, exposes corruption, keeps the public informed and provides the first draft of history. Recognising these public goods does not negate important criticisms of news media and dubious journalism practices.
The key societal challenge is not bailing out the news media industry, but finding sustainable ways to fund quality journalism. Traditionally, news outlets relied on advertising revenue to cover their costs. Unsurprisingly, this raised concerns about the extent to which business interests influenced the news, a concern that remains central to any discussion about funding journalism.
That old advertising model has collapsed as digital advertisers no longer depend on media outlets to reach audiences. Google and Facebook now dominate the advertising market. They offer users free access to their services while accumulating data that can be monetised through advertising sales.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, Professor Colleen Murrell on issues in Australia between news organisations and social media giants Facebook and Google
We may know them as a search engine and a social network, but Google and Facebook are primarily advertising businesses. In Ireland, they collected 81% of all online advertising revenue in 2019. That dominance makes it hard for Irish media to make money. Covid-19 compounded these problems as many businesses stopped advertising during the lockdowns. Meanwhile, Google enjoyed record advertising growth last year.
Importantly, news media are not struggling for want of audience attention. People consume large amounts of journalism either directly or on digital platforms. The problem is that the news media have not figured out a way to make money in the digital environment. Major international publications like the New York Times may be able to survive in this market. Others struggle despite attracting large online audiences. Digital innovators like Buzzfeed and Huffington Post - both once hailed as the future of news – prioritised clickbait and a paid-for-clicks work culture, but still struggle financially.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, interview with Prof Brian MacCraith, chairman of the Future of Media Commission
Quality journalism remains expensive and time-consuming. In Ireland, some outlets have been forced to cut staff, reduce pay, or close. According to Local Ireland, 16 regional newspapers closed and employment in the sector has halved over the past decade. These losses create major accountability gaps as court sessions and council meetings go unreported. We’re living in an age in which the minutiae of everyday life is well documented online while local governance operates unseen because local reporters are becoming a thing of the past.
To counteract this, the question of how to fund journalism needs to be addressed. So who should pay?
Consumers
Internationally, news outlets have been experimenting with subscriptions and donations. There are slight increases in public willingness to pay for online news, but the figures are a long way from plugging the financial gap left by advertising. Only 12% of Irish consumers pay for online news.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, interview with Tom Lyons and Ian Kehoe about their subscription-only publication The Currency
Another challenge is that online payments are not distributed evenly. Subscriptions tend to favour leading national and international brands as well as specialist publications, which has implications for the diversity of the market. People’s willingness to pay is also tied to the economy and the availability of disposable income.
In Ireland, TheJournal's Noteworthy is an innovative approach to crowdfunding. Journalists develop proposals for investigations based on readers’ suggestions and the public make donations to cover the costs. While this isn’t an ideal model for all types of journalism, it aims to fund "the complex stories that are falling between the cracks"
The state
In 2020, the Irish government supported the media sector by increasing its advertising spend. While providing a much-needed boost during Covid-19, this is not a desirable solution given the potential for undue influence.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Michael O'Keeffe from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland on the body's proposal for extra powers to regulate harmful social media content
In contrast to direct government support, public funding of media is a well established practice. Across Europe, public service broadcasters are funded through license fees. Public money also supports the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's funding scheme for television and radio programmes. A public model like this could be expanded for certain types of journalism.
Governments could support news media in other ways by providing funds for technology investment and journalism training. In Ireland, industry representatives call for actions that would simply bring Ireland in line with standard EU practices. These include removing VAT for news providers, reforming the license fee, and updating the law on defamation.
Tech bros
Direct funding by tech companies is as undesirable as direct funding by governments. The dominant alternative is to force tech companies to negotiate with media producers. This underpins the Australian and EU approach. The EU’s controversial Copyright Directive gives publishers collective bargaining powers. France has already implemented the relevant articles and Google has agreed to pay €62m to a group of French publishers. Ireland has yet to act on transposing the Copyright Directive into national law.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's News At One, Jamie Smyth on Google's deal with one of Australia's largest media groups to pay for news content accessed through its platform.
A more incisive proposal is to tax the tech companies’ ad revenue to fund public-interest journalism. During his US presidential bid, Bernie Sanders proposed this measure along with antitrust actions that would challenge the market dominance of Google and Facebook.
For their part, tech companies argue that they already support news media by providing free tools and services. Google's Digital News Initiative supports innovation projects, including TheJournal’s Noteworthy, while Facebook is the world's largest funder of fact-checking. Such tech philanthropy may seem generous, but it does little to secure the future of quality journalism.
Bigger questions
Finding ways to fill a pot with money, whether funded by the tech companies or the public purse, is only the start of the matter. There are more complicated questions that need to be addressed: what counts as public-interest journalism? Who should qualify for funds? Should news outlets be penalised if they break ethical codes? Who would make these decisions?
These are the big questions that will define the future of journalism, but they remain academic until there is a plan for funding. In Ireland, the Future of Media Commission is currently tackling this issue, while new national and European legislation will reform how media are regulated. For now, we must wait and see what will be proposed.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
