Lecture Two: You seriously expect me to pay for that?

It’s comforting to know that some things never change, isn’t it? As I drag myself out of bed each morning the two things that get me going are my cup of coffee and the chance to scour the newspaper. Many a person my age has delighted in telling me how lame this is, but I really don’t care. There’s just something about unravelling the day’s news into my hot little hands that I love. Unfortunately, as I learned in our second lecture, this ritual I have come to adore so much could soon be a thing of the past. It seems that, like most things these days, the news is becoming more and more of an online phenomenon.

Old media (newspapers, magazines, radio and T.V.) has changed in to new media, meaning more people are typing in the w’s to get their fix of the news. If it’s online then I should be allowed to read it free of charge, right? Well, maybe not. We’ve become a culture of self-entitled news readers and the hot shots leading the media charge have had enough. The journalists writing the online stories aren’t just doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. They have families to feed and Rupert Murdoch and the gang have found the solution. It’s time to pay for our online news!!!! Oh the outrage, the unfairness of it all!!! The crowd is not going wild for this idea but realistically, it kind of makes sense. I couldn’t imagine walking in to a newsagent and snatching up the first newspaper in sight ‘just coz it’s there.’  

Evidently, journalism mediums are changing with the 21^st century into more of an Internet stage. I believe print journalism will never be killed off, but probably become less in demand as more and more people snatch up the magic of technology. If this is the case (and I’m usually right) then it’s only too fair that online journalists are paid for their work. Nothing in life is ever free you know.