We have talked in class about how many of the nation’s finest journalism outlets were launched by wealthy citizens who hoped to serve the common good, improve their standing in the community, and make a few extra bucks along the way. It seems we have built some consensus around the idea that one problem facing media outlets today is that they are run by publicly-held corporations that make cuts to newsroom resources in an effort to keep shareholders happy. So, while many newspapers and news broadcasts produce sizable profits, those profits are no longer growing, and therefore they no longer represent sound investments.
Last week, Mark Cuban, the billionaire media mogul and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, launched BailoutSleuth.com, which he introduced on his own blog maverick by saying, “Its job is simple, keep an eye on our taxpayer dollars and call Bullsh*t when necessary.” (my censorship, for your sensitive eyes).
According to Sharesleuth.com, Bailoutsleuth’s “companion site,” they are “seeking a reporter who can write daily dispatches and produce longer investigative stories” and “looking to hire a financial analyst who can evaluate the deals and help make sense of them for a general audience.”
By my count that is two salaries that Mr. Cuban will pay with almost no hope of making a profit from the site. There appear to be no ads on Sharesleuth or Bailoutsleuth and the info is freely available to anyone with an Internet connection. To hear him describe the site’s purpose on Planet Money’s October 21 podcast, it sounds like he sees this venture as a public service.
Clearly, Cuban has some personal interest in having an inside track on the full extent of the financial crisis, but he is under no obligation to publish what he learns.
Can a reversion to the private ownership, love-me-because-I-bring-you-the-news model save journalism?
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Good question. Something doesn't feel right about this. I am suspicious to the point of cynicism, I guess. I looked around for some background and I'm not convinced. This is the guy who thought Google would be foolish to buy up YouTube. He also said when asked,"... what he would do if he ran a newspaper site. He answers that he’d first figure out what his core competencies are and what will keep others out of his business."(Buzzmachine) Hmmm. His views on these things were just that- his views, not news, but he acted like he was the ultimate resource on them. Maybe his is the way of the future, but is it Journalism? Thats another question we've been hashing out in class.
Reporting the news should not be about keeping the public happy, but informed. (Lippman, Dewey, Shelby) Newspapers and broadcasts make money but they don't make enough money for some folks. That's greed to me. Being a billionaire frees Cuban up from being beholden to stockholders but that doesn't mean he can hang out his shingle and we call him a journalist, regardless of his motives. He claims transparency but is it so? Once again, from the same article on Buzzflash, "I then ask him to talk about Sharesleuth and journalism... Rich Jaroslovsky from Bloomberg follows up ... and says that the arrangement from Sharesleuth wouldn’t pass the smell test with news organizations. If the Dallas Morning News did the same thing, would that be ok? (Cuban) says yes, if the arrangement was known."
Agh. I'll stop.
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