In an editorial, North Bergen resident Eric Dixon argues that a new legislative effort in Trenton to fund New Jersey media outlets is “feeding the dinosaurs after they’ve gone extinct” based on its current language.
A new proposal to establish advertising “set-asides” to subsidize select local news media outlets was introduced last week in the New Jersey Senate.
The joint bill, S-3744/A-4677, co-sponsored by Hudson County’s 31st District State Senator Angela McKnight, cites an 82 percent decline in newspaper advertising since 2000 and a need to “combat misinformation.”
But those facts don’t mean the news media is dead, never mind that it needs public support.
Skepticism over public subsidies is warranted, as history shows programs are often prone to going over budget, underperforming, becoming captive to and eventually entrenching – and enriching – special interests.
Even worse is the specter of politically-motivated editorial interference, alluded to in the preamble to the bill.
Have we forgotten recent attempts to end the publication requirements for legal notices and curtail open government laws like the Open Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act?
The draft bill validates these concerns. It would prop up obsolete legacy news media, and some insurers. It’s incumbent protection — for The Walking Dead of journalism.
The advertising subsidy would have government bodies advertise only with “qualified organizations” which have at least $1 million in media liability insurance and have been in operation for at least two years.
Message to independent or startup new media: You need not apply. Go away.
This is an astonishing approach that ignores the rapid transformation of communications to digital.
Given the recent closing of The Jersey Journal and even of once-iconic 50,000-watt WCBS-AM (“NewsRadio 88”), using tax dollars to resuscitate clearly failing legacy media makes as much sense as feeding the dinosaurs after they’ve gone extinct.
A government-funded approach to supporting local news media could take many forms from a technical perspective. But what would its mission be? An alternative to PBS? A reboot of NJN/New Jersey Network?
Would it underwrite journalism so that certain issues or “underserved” markets get covered? Could it curate all the private sources out there?
Or would it try to develop and document a “legitimate” historical record to counter the blatant misinformation and disinformation (including the trash that is exploiting A.I.) taking advantage of the ease with which content may be developed and delivered today?
For any government solution to “work,” the legislature has to understand the media, the market, and the technology. Senator McKnight’s bill accomplishes none of the three.
In its current form, it’s just feeding the dinosaurs when everyone knows they’re dead.
Eric Dixon is a North Bergen resident, lawyer, and entrepreneur specializing in emerging technology ventures including Newschain.
The loud sound the reader heard after reading Eric Dixon’s op-ed was his other shoe dropping as he concluded his self-serving piece by acknowledging he is “…an entrepreneur specializing in emerging technology ventures including Newschain.” There is no real nutritional value in what he offers; the link to Newschain he posted only wants to give the user the malapropism’cookies’, not for nutritional value or dessert, but for self serving marketing purposes. Perhaps he and his fellow investors were already weeded out for consideration because of the public’s disdain for such providers’ double talk on the meaning of “cookies.” I don’t think Mr. Dixon cares about what is good for the public and how best to facilitate unvarnished news delivered efficiently without fear or favor.
That Newschain page looks sketchy AF.