weekly 23/10/15

Why the future of newspapers is not all doom and gloom

And there is a growing recognition that Google, Facebook, Snapchat and others benefit significantly from the value that news brands like the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Mail provide. The relationship is not dependent. It is interdependent – mutually beneficial, because the news brands provide serious, engaging content through the power of their journalism and the power and influence of their brands. So the pendulum, you could say, is starting to swing back to what some people still like to call “traditional media”. 

The article is trying to reinforce the fact that people need traditional media as much as it needs them to develop a healthy revenue and expand their market share because of their brand.
 In relation to smaller news brands the idea of a 'thousand monkeys on the internet' may be highlighted and that the content being produced is not of professional standards and that online media may not hit its target market.

Martin Sorrell on newspaper digital ad slowdown: 'paywalls are the way to go'

said Sorrell. “If you have content that has value consumers will pay for it. You have to get your mind around the fact that digital [advertising] is going to be less profitable. If that [economic reality] is what you are moving into you’ve got to make cost adjustments. [And] be much more free thinking and flexible about how to make revenue.”

I believe that the development and increase of pay walls means the decrease of 'people power' this is because more people will be less interested in paying for the newspaper online and  this will lead to a fall in our obligation to defend democracy. I make this bold statement as I believe that circulating news is highly important for us to understand our world and current affairs which may very well affect us. Therefore, being oppressed to this vital information could lead to a very dull, suppressive and unequal society.