The media business doesn’t have a problem making money from entertaining videos, says Clay Shirky, a technology theorist, professor at NYU, and the author of "Here Comes Everybody."
But hard news is facing serious challenges, like beat reporting on the city council. The good news is that people are finally realizing that there should be a news-gathering function that isn’t dependent on advertising dollars. Shirky, talking to Innovation Hub, sees three potential models for the future of news:
People who donate their time and attention, like volunteer community firefighters
The billionaire model, where someone like Jeff Bezos writes a check and supports an organization like The Washington Post or First Look Media
Crowd-sourced support of professional institutions (a la public radio)
