Good and quality journalism; accurate, fast, comprehensive, in-depth, and abundant news is an indispensable public need. For this need to be met, the existence of newspapers that are independent and economically strong, that is, those that earn enough and sustainably, is of crucial importance. However, for a while, in the journalism sector, not only in Turkey but also in almost every part of the world, have not been going well. The sector has been shrinking every year since 2008, newspapers are regularly losing income, and it seems that they will continue to lose for some time.
This book discusses the reasons, consequences, and conditions of overcoming the income loss in the journalism sector.
Overcoming the deep institutional crisis in which journalists find themselves, who are one of the most fundamental tools of democracy, is more important than ever. Understanding what this crisis is and facing it is essential for finding a solution. This book invites the reader to confront this crisis and to convince the reader that there are ways to overcome it. Because journalism is not only a profession that concerns journalists but also the whole society, and the crisis in journalism can only be overcome through social cooperation. For this, newspapers need to stop relying on ads they have been relying on for years to make money. Google, Facebook, and similar digital platforms have significantly limited newspapers' ability to generate as much ad revenue as they used to. The author extensively discusses the reasons for this in the book and convinces the reader. Social cooperation becomes crucial here. At the end of the book, the author provides examples of successful and inspiring experiences from around the world, discussing ways for newspapers to generate income from their readers, such as paywalls and voluntary reader support, and the conditions for success.
The crisis in journalism can also be turned into an opportunity to create possibilities for original, proper, and public-interest-oriented journalism. When you read the book, you will once again be convinced of how possible this is.
