News by Donation
The linked Associated Press (AP) story is all about philanthropic funding of climate change articles by the AP. Newspapers and other news organizations make money through subscriptions, advertising, and circulation inserts. Wire services like AP and Reuters generate revenues by making their content available to news organizations, including newspapers, television, and radio for a fee based on the news outlet’s usage and circulation.
The writers and photographers for wire services must write compelling stories and take high-quality photographs in order for the news outlets to purchase their products. There is now another way for wire services to access revenue – philanthropy. In this story, the AP has been given $8 million USD by four foundations to allow for coverage of climate change and you can be assured that each story will be guided by the desires of the institution’s funding and the opinions of corporate media.
This article makes it quite clear and apparent that stories about climate change do not sell, however, now that they are prepaid through endowments, they can be provided at a reduced rate or free to media outlets thereby significantly enhancing the promotion, marketing, and campaign of climate change.
In other words, the progressives have discovered a new and novel way to increase the messaging. News articles are not a journey of examination or research, but typically isolated weather incidents that writers contrive as a changing climate faulted on callous and uncaring humans.
This is another new journalistic low where they are being paid for stories by elitist philanthropic organizations rather than their real mission of truth in reporting and giving voice to the weak and voiceless and keeping the powerful accountable – what seems a long-forgotten duty.
This is checkbook journalism and acceptance of bribery, much like the checkbook science of consensus. Furthermore, In a recent Gallup poll, “only 7% of Americans have a ‘great deal’ of ‘trust and confidence in the mass media, and 34% have no trust at all in the media” as well as, a total of “63% on the negative side”. In addition, what people believe and what they are willing to say are often two vastly different things. As Politico points out in a February 2, 2022 article, despite the dirt and disdain constantly thrown, in many cases and group thinks Fox News now, attracts more liberal viewers than CNN or MSNBC.
This process of ‘charitable’ payment for news is likely the highest form of deceptive, disingenuous, and dishonest marketing. While the AP claims, “the funders have no influence on the stories that are done” one can be assured that the donor knows exactly where the money is going and the general ideology and content of the stories generated. This is simply another form of intrusive promotion and elitist indoctrination. Several legacy media such as the New York Times and the Salt Lake City Tribune are adopting this same type of revenue stream.
It seems the quote by American newspaper publisher and politician, the late William Randolph Hearst, “News is something somebody doesn't want printed; all else is advertising”, is readily true.