Paywalling Facts

Increasingly reputable news outlets have made their content paywalled just as the need for access to dependable and real news has increased. It’s surprising that there has not been more coverage or analysis of this phenomenon. We occasionally receive feedback from readers asking to not link to paywalled sites but we find this to be practically impossible given much of the fair and balanced reporting on (world) news is typically done by paywalled publications. Here is a list of publications we put together that have moved to paywalls.

A decade ago it was possible to read The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Wired, and much of the news online for free without hitting a paywall. Free online news proved to be an unsustainable business model for major news outlets (5 reputable news outlets we regularly reference that still do not have paywalls are NPR, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, and Reuters). Over the past decade as reputable news sites began instituting paywalls, fake news sites began sprouting up perhaps as a result of the paywallification of news and just as likely due to how fast these sites could grow on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube).

In 2016 while mainstream news both lamented the rise and could not stop covering Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, their criticisms of his campaign definitely had less impact on voters who did not have the means to access their content. And as President Trump continues to label reputable news sites as fake news these sites perhaps are becoming even less relevant to Americans who do not or cannot pay for accurate and balanced reporting of the news.

We live in a world where there is an excess of choices whether it be calories or content. But not all calories and content are created equally. Just as there is a “Gap in Diet Quality Between Wealthiest and Poorest Americans” there increasingly is a gap in the access of the quality of news content between the wealthiest and poorest Americans. If paywall sites are like fruits and vegetables, then social media sites are the Twinkies and Twix bars of the day. And politicians and fake news sites realize this business and political opportunity.

Increasingly savvy and deeper pocketed consumers realize that reliable news reporting and thoughtful news analysis needs to be supported and as a result subscriptions to The New York Times and other paywalled sites is doing phenomenally well. The story of the next decade for not just politics but democracy will be whether access to reputable news like food, clothes, education, and much of America will be separated between the haves and have nots.

“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.” – Edward R. Murrow

“Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions.” – Ibid.

Female Suicide Crisis In India: There is a suicide crisis facing Indian women. Two in five women who commit suicide are Indian. Experts are blaming this morbid trend on the Indian culture itself. Poonam Muttreja, of the Population Foundation of India, blames this public health epidemic on a few cultural norms, one of which is the fact that one-fifth of Indian women are married before the age of 15. She also blames the incredibly patriarchal Indian society which oftens creates a dangerous environment for women. “Our social norms are very regressive,” Muttreja said. “In the village, a girl is called her father’s daughter, then she is her husband’s wife, and when she has a son, she is her son’s mother.” (Guardian)

To Catch All Predators: On Tuesday, every Zambian citizen received a text that urged them to report online child abuse. This is part of the country’s intense crackdown on the spread of child pornography. Zambia has set up an online portal where citizens can go to anonymously report any illegal images or content they come across. The goal of this push is to make the internet a safer place for children in Zambia which is becoming an increasingly necessary move as more and more children in the country begin to have access to phones and internet. The Global Fund To End Violence Against Children will also help to setup a similar system in 30 other countries. (Guardian)

– “Students made to look black in French art school photo: A French private art college has apologised after one of its promotional images was doctored to include more black students.” (BBC)

– “Anti-Kremlin Activist In Critical Condition After Suspected Poisoning, Pussy Riot Says” (NPR)

Promote Fails: A well-meaning US Afghanistan Aid program that focused on empowering women is sadly an apparent failure. The program, entitled Promote, was given $280 million with the hopes of helping 75,000 Afghan women begin successful careers. Unfortunately there just isn’t any substantial research that shows the project is working. One of the few results that were uncovered found that in the three years that the program has been running, only 55 women found jobs (the data does not prove that Promote was 100% the reason these women became employed). In an interview, John L. Sopko, who monitors American spending in Afghanistan, stated that the program was “poorly designed and oversold,” (NYT)

Letter Potentially Stamps Out BK’s Chances: Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee received a confidential letter regarding supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The letter, which was written by a woman who knew Kavanaugh when they were both 17, claims that Kavanaugh and a male friend locked her in a room against her will. While she was able to escape, the ordeal left her feeling scared and threatened. The validity of the letter is still in question, even by Feinstein. However it has been reported that the author of the letter is already working with Debra Katz, who has famously represented many assault victims in the past. (Guardian)

Trump Rounds Way Down: It’s the lowball heard around the world. Donald Trump has hurricanes on the mind. While warning the country of the impending danger of Hurricane Florence, Trump decided to go on a Twitter rant in which he accused his political opponents of dramatically increasing the death toll in Puerto Rico from last year’s Hurricane Maria. Trump stated that the Democrats increased the count from at most 18 deaths to a whopping 3,000 deaths. As you might have already guessed, Trump is very wrong with that estimate. On August 28th, 2018, George Washington University and Puerto Rico released an update that stated the official death count from Hurricane Maria was in fact 2,975. Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, said it best in a tweet, “Simply put: delusional, paranoid, and unhinged from any sense of reality. Trump is so vain he thinks this is about him. NO IT IS NOT.” (NYT)

Free Prime 2 Billion Dollar Donation: The founder of Amazon and the man who can deliver a lawn mower and a pair of socks to your door in just two days, Jeff Bezos, is often accused of not being charitable enough with his $164 billion net worth. That all (slightly) changed today as Bezos announced his plans to invest $2 billion in a new charity called the Day One Fund. Bezos announced the plans in a tweet on Thursday. He says that the goal of the Day One Fund is to “issue annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families,” The announcement was met with mixed reviews. Many praised Bezos for such a large donation, while others criticized the fact that many Amazon warehouse workers and delivery drivers complain about dangerously poor working conditions. (Guardian & Business Insider)

– “As Elkhart, Ind., Goes, So Goes the Nation, and Elkhart Is Nervous: More than 80 percent of the recreational vehicles sold in the United States are made in and around Elkhart, Ind., and President Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum are driving up costs.” (NYT)

– “Andrew Cuomo has won himself another term, but his presidential aspirations are dead: He zigged right when the party was zagging left.”

Hurricane Florence Tips: For those of you in the Carolinas and anywhere else in Hurricane Florence’s path, here is a collection of articles and stories that we think might help you over the next few weeks.

– “Hurricane Florence: Carolinas brace for ‘storm of lifetime’ – live updates” The Guardian is going to be constantly updating this link with any essential information.

– “17 Apps To Help You Get Through The Hurricane” NPR put together a list of apps that can help you find food, shelter, and other necessities.

– “Tips for Travelers Affected by Hurricane Florence” The New York Times put together some information for anyone traveling during the hurricane.

– “5 Tech Tips To Help You Prepare For Hurricane Florence” Forbes made a list of ways to use and protect your tech during Florence.

– “USDA Offers Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Hurricane Florence” The USDA gives you some incredibly important food safety tips.

– “This weird bird may have been the first protected species: The northern bald ibis was once common in southern Europe, but it was declared endangered in the early 16th Century and finally driven out altogether. Now it is making a comeback” (BBC)

– “Wait, So How Much of the Ocean Is Actually Fished?: One prominent study said 55 percent, its critics say 4 percent, and they both used the same data.” (Atlantic)

– “Social Security, food stamps, and other programs kept 44 million people out of poverty last year: The new census data probably won’t stop Republicans from trying to gut the safety net.” (Vox)

– “What Termites Can Teach Us: Roboticists are fascinated by their “swarm intelligence,” biologists by their ability to turn grass into energy. But can humans replicate their achievements?” (New Yorker)

– “The Educational Tyranny of The Neurotypicals: Structured learning didn’t serve me particularly well.” (Wired)

– “How to Be Better at Parties: Whether you love them or hate them, parties are important.” (NYT)

– “Women who work at McDonald’s are striking next week over sexual harassment:They want the company to do much more to protect them.” (Vox)

– “What Kids’ Backpacks Say About Them: These bags are one of the most constant material items in a kid’s life, and they serve as both status symbols and intimate companions.” (Atlantic)

– “How Apple got us to pay so much for the iPhone: The iPhone is getting more expensive, and Apple is betting faithful customers will barely blink an eye.” (CNN Tech)

– “Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?: The most famous entrepreneur of his generation is facing a public reckoning with the power of Big Tech.” (New Yorker)

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