Platforms need the news, but they're killing it

Decoder with Nilay Patel

We’ve been talking a lot this year about the changing internet, and what it’s doing to the media ecosystem — particularly journalism, which has taken a backseat to creators and influencers. But the tech platforms themselves have a lot of influence over what those creators and influencers make, too. If you’re a Decoder listener, you’ll recognize this as one of my common themes — the idea that the way we distribute media directly influences the media we make.

To break this all down, I invited media critic and labor union president Matt Pearce on the show to discuss a great blog he wrote titled “Lessons on media policy at the slaughter-bench of history.” We get into what mechanisms can be used to fund journalism, and how building a direct audience and exercising control over distribution is more pivotal than ever.

Links:

• Lessons on media policy at the slaughter-bench of history | Matt Pearce
• Journalism's fight for survival in a postliterate democracy | Matt Pearce
• A deep dive into Google's shady (and shoddy) California journalism deal | Matt Pearce
• Google Zero is here — now what? | Decoder
• Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse and what comes next | Decoder
• Illusory Truth Effect | The Decision Lab
• The people who ruined the internet | The Verge
• Another independent site says Google killed its business | The Verge
• Google ‘can’t guarantee’ that independent sites will recover | The Verge
• Owner of Los Angeles Times Plans ‘Bias Meter’ Next to Coverage | NYT

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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