There seems to be a growing perception among some educated people that the reason that newspapers are in such dire straits is because they started giving their content away on the web – that free does not and cannot work as a core component of a successful business model. I have come across this in more than one place over the last few days and it is really starting to get under my skin – it’s horse shit really.

The thing that bothers me most is this notion that free news is a new idea. That “free” is some kind of techno-utopian plot hatched by Stewart Brand and put into action by Google’s evil don’t be evil plan. Equally idiotic is the contention that economic pressure (or just plain greedy human nature) has pushed the newspaper reader into the unholy practice of seeking the free while publishers (helpless under the glamouring of their readers) just could not resist compliance. This kind of horse shit completely ignores the real reason why most papers gave the news away for free to begin with – they never valued it is a salable item.

In fact the greatest proof that the implosion of the newspaper industry has nothing to do with “Free” as a business model is the fact that newspaper indsutry is perhaps the one place that the “Free” model has traditionally worked quite well. Free newspapers are fairly commonplace in most cities and have been for a long, long time. Newspapers didn’t just start giving away content with the rise of the internet – it’s been the fiber of the industry’s model almost since its inception. Give the news away and sell ads around it. Selling content itself? That’s what book publishers do.

No, the industry’s troubles have much more to do with the sort of things that are bringing down the US auto and finance industries – two industries that sure as shit never gave anything away. The newspaper industry was undone by the shifting sands of the culture on which it was built. News organizations became too big, too bloated, too concerned with creating shareholder value, too invested in runaway executive compensation, too disconnected from the communities and people they served. This collapse is the result of a disconnect, of unchecked and unrealistic growth. Macroeconomic asteroids taking out dinosaur organizations.

The bottom line in this whole mess is that the owners of most newspapers fell asleep. As the world continued to spin, life continued to evolve, and technology continued to advance, the hero of our story – Newspaperman – feel into a deep, ad revenue induced sleep. It was a pleasant dream filled drunken fairy tale of a slumber – the kind you never want to end.

Yet it always does…

[wavy dream transition effect would go here if this were video]

Scene One – The Awakening

Perhaps it was the feeling of hunger or the sound of a closing door or muffled laughter, but Newspaperman is waking up now. He’s stretches his arms, scratches his overfed belly (as it gurgles), opens his mouth wide and yawns. As he slowly rises into a sleepy stumble toward the bathroom he stops in front of the mirror. It takes him a second but as he starts to focus he sees it. One eyebrow – while he was asleep some joker shaved one of his eyebrows.

Newspaperman is pissed. He looks around the room and finds the first laughing face – his old friend Reader (who, for some reason, still sees Newspaperman as relevant, and stayed with him to make sure he didn’t choke on his own vomit) – and starts to blame him.

“It had to be you – you’re the only one hear – you’re laughing” Newspaperman bellows.

“No way” says Reader “it was Advertising.”

“What?”

Reader stood in the corner holding back a laugh. “Yeah – he shaved that shit and left the room – said something about not needing you – he has his blog and a Twitter account. And then ditched.”

“And you didn’t stop him?”

“Have you seen the size of that guy? He does what he wants.”

Newspaperman looked puzzled – flustered – as he leaned into the mirror feeling the smooth skin where his eyebrow used to be. “Well… if I ever see that guy again he’s going to get his. As for you – get the hell out of my room and don’t come back until you’re willing to make up for this – I demand compensation.”

Reader shrugged his shoulders and left. Out in the street he ran into some of his friends. They all had a bit of a laugh over Newspaperman’s tough morning and then forgot all about it as they got into talking about what was happening in Iran.

[end of the dream]