Look at the quality of premium cable TV over the last two decades, when compared to the quality of network TV over the same timespan, to see what happens to content when advertisers are the main source of cash.

Interesting comparison, but I think it's far easier for HBO to beat six broadcast networks than for the Times to beat a teeming horde of free online papers and bloggers.

Journalism · 2005/05/21 · 1 COMMENT · Link

Comments

I agree with your last sentence but for one reason only: because 1 blogger can pay for and read the Times subscription site and then report the good stuff for free to the rest of us.

As far as quality goes, "teeming horde" doesn't exactly mean "high quality" and that is the point Paul Ford was making. "Teeming horde" means "quantity" and that is the basis for advertising rates. A site that charges for content MUST have quality, otherwise their subscribers will leave.

#1 · Shannon J Hager · 2005/05/21

Add a Comment

All comments are moderated before publication. These HTML tags are permitted: <p>, <b>, <i>, <a>, and <blockquote>. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA (for which the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply).