I was reading a blog in Post-Gutenberg about a proposal to allow readers to become stakeholders in a newspaper and it included a list of reasons why such an idea was unlikely to go forward. It really comes down to the publishers, who are the only members of the Press who generally actually make money. This was item fourth on the list but from my experience is probably the most accurate.

Fear of losing power. Most publishers of the print era cannot give up the idea of journalists and editors performing on a stage for readers – the audience down in the pit, which is where they would like them to stay. They cannot accept that technology has made it realistic for readers to want – indeed, expect – to share the stage with them, even if only in walk-on parts, in most cases, at the start.

The other reasons are Too New, Protectionism, Semantics and Pessimism. Good read.


URL: http://post-gutenberg.com/2011/09/05/wanted-a-brave-newspaper-for-an-experiment-in-which-readers-become-stakeholders/