A paradigm shift in media is here

The next era of media is rapidly approaching, and it is long overdue.

People across the world rely on media information to make a variety of decisions across life & business each and every day. Without accurate and trusted sources of news and insights, it is difficult to make wise choices in this chaotic world.

However, we have never truly known what impartial media is like.

The reality is that advertisers have paid the bill for decades, and sadly, this has an impact on what we are able to read, see and hear.

When the online media space that launched 25 years ago, the industry had to make a difficult choice around funding growth and operations. There are costs to hosting websites, creating content and managing a business.

Since most people in the early days of the Internet were explorers (remember when we “surfed the web”?), it was difficult to to successfully charge for content. The majority of people wanted information and content for free.

A few pioneers, such as the Wall Street Journal successfully tackled that challenge, however, they have been the exception to the rule.

In addition to people wanting free content, another reason that it has been hard to charge for content is the current financial system doesn’t like small transaction amounts.

A monthly subscription model like the WSJ offers can feel like a big commitment for the casual reader who only wants to read one or two articles a month.

However, for WSJ to charge $0.50 to read a single article isn’t a practical option in a world dominated by credit cards. Those financial services entities charge a fixed processing fee in addition to a percentage of the transaction, which would consume the majority of the $0.50 in this example.

Consequently, the majority of media publishers have relied on advertisers to cover the costs of business. This generally requires a sales team to build those relationships, which leads to expectations from advertisers around a return on the media spend investment.

In some cases, this can lead to a conflict of interest. If the advertiser, for a variety of reasons, needs an article to present information in a certain light, the publisher will be under pressure to accommodate that request.

The reader’s needs become secondary, which can lead to “spin” or other tactics that change the conclusions of the article or news story.

Tucker Carlson explained this reality in his recent video where he announced his move to Twitter.

What is a better alternative than ad supported media?

To start, allow the viewers to build a direct relationship with the source of the insights (the author, journalist or content creator).

Remove the third party whose interests aren’t always aligned with consumers and business owners.

I don’t intend to come across as cynical and imply that every advertiser asks for media coverage to be skewed. The vast majority of advertisers are great people who work at organizations with honorable intentions.

However, it only takes a few conflicts of interests for the media industry to become compromised. We only need a few bad apples to breakdown our trust in news sources.

Twitter recently launched a “tipping” feature which is a form of micropayment. While credit card processors don’t like payments less than $1, blockchain digital assets (particularly those with extremely low transaction fees) are ideal for this use case.

Allowing a reader to pay a small amount for each article, thread or video that they find valuable introduces a paradigm shift to media. People are no longer forced into a “monthly-subscription-or-nothing” set of limited choices.

I am not worried about the advertisers who will have to adapt. Innovative leaders in business will find new ways to connect with prospects, as the world of marketing continuously evolves to embrace new technology platforms.

The truth is that we have all been to websites that are overly cluttered with irrelevant ads which doesn’t benefit the reader or the content publisher.

Innovative brands will discover new tactics & tools to expand and grow. The only thing that is consistent in life is change, and that certainly applies to the world of media & news.

It will be exciting to watch the evolution of media continue to unfold. Not only will small micropayments become more prevalent, but streaming payments will also introduce a new business model.

When this new season is fully underway (it is still early) independent news media and content creators will discover a seat at the table that hasn’t been available.

New monetization models will change the careers of journalists who have important ideas to share and no longer find themselves answering to the media industrial complex.

The season of truth, honesty and integrity has begun. What a wonderful time to be alive!