Star of Hope is a nondenominational Christian organization that equips children across the world with knowledge, physical well-being, spiritual growth and social skills through educational programs and local and international partnerships. Please donate!
In 1992, sixteen years ago, it was virtually impossible to view a picture on the Internet. Connection to the Internet was through a slow dial-up modem or, for a lucky few, through academic, governmental or business T-1 connections.
Today, I can look at a photograph taken in China at the scene of a disaster within moments after it was taken. I can read first person accounts of a battle in Iraq within hours. I can exchange points of view with a Peruvian in real time,
You young people, he says in a quavery old voice, don’t know how lucky you are.
The Internet has made the world realtime. The potential of the Net is that everything can be witnessed, worldwide, as it happens. The only obstacle is implementation of the existing technology.
CNN, Fox News, and others have been featuring photos from their viewers that involve current news. Fox isn’t very good about giving those folks credit but the pics do get put up.
There’s the rub. Should we, the public, be contributing to the success of media if we do not get credit or payment for our work?
Let’s face it. In the “old” days, freelance photographers got big money for capturing pictures of news value. Yet, here we are in the Internet age, sending our work to CNN or Fox or the local station for free. And much of the time we don’t even get a printed credit on screen for the effort.
The Internet makes this realtime coverage possible. But, it is destroying the economic model that used to pay for the coverage we saw. Is there a new model that will compensate the public for participating in news coverage yet allow for a valuation of that effort by the media?
I write for a couple of different sites that pay a fraction of a cent per view. For all intents, they do not do news, just opinion and features. I’ve made $19 in the last year off this work. If I wrote more, I’d make more but the incentive is rather low.
Could the local news media find an incentive price that would attract me to provide them articles or photos? You bet! I’ve covered a number of local stories that should have been in the paper or on the TV.
And, I’ve done some work that belongs on CNN. They could have had it for a modest, for them, sum, but there is no mechanism to do that sort of thing.
The old media is beginning to be a day late and a dollar short. They don’t need to be but that’s the way they are applying their business model. I can see up to the minute coverage of many stories on line at no cost. What does the old media have to offer?
On Y!CN
Star of Hope is a nondenominational Christian organization that equips children across the world with knowledge, physical well-being, spiritual growth and social skills through educational programs and local and international partnerships. Please donate!
The Amazing Internet
June 27th, 2008 | Comments Off
In 1992, sixteen years ago, it was virtually impossible to view a picture on the Internet. Connection to the Internet was through a slow dial-up modem or, for a lucky few, through academic, governmental or business T-1 connections.
Today, I can look at a photograph taken in China at the scene of a disaster within moments after it was taken. I can read first person accounts of a battle in Iraq within hours. I can exchange points of view with a Peruvian in real time,
You young people, he says in a quavery old voice, don’t know how lucky you are.
The Internet has made the world realtime. The potential of the Net is that everything can be witnessed, worldwide, as it happens. The only obstacle is implementation of the existing technology.
CNN, Fox News, and others have been featuring photos from their viewers that involve current news. Fox isn’t very good about giving those folks credit but the pics do get put up.
There’s the rub. Should we, the public, be contributing to the success of media if we do not get credit or payment for our work?
Let’s face it. In the “old” days, freelance photographers got big money for capturing pictures of news value. Yet, here we are in the Internet age, sending our work to CNN or Fox or the local station for free. And much of the time we don’t even get a printed credit on screen for the effort.
The Internet makes this realtime coverage possible. But, it is destroying the economic model that used to pay for the coverage we saw. Is there a new model that will compensate the public for participating in news coverage yet allow for a valuation of that effort by the media?
I write for a couple of different sites that pay a fraction of a cent per view. For all intents, they do not do news, just opinion and features. I’ve made $19 in the last year off this work. If I wrote more, I’d make more but the incentive is rather low.
Could the local news media find an incentive price that would attract me to provide them articles or photos? You bet! I’ve covered a number of local stories that should have been in the paper or on the TV.
And, I’ve done some work that belongs on CNN. They could have had it for a modest, for them, sum, but there is no mechanism to do that sort of thing.
The old media is beginning to be a day late and a dollar short. They don’t need to be but that’s the way they are applying their business model. I can see up to the minute coverage of many stories on line at no cost. What does the old media have to offer?
Filed under: Commentary, Media, Old Media, Original writing · Tags: Internet, Media, news, Old Media