How the problem of financing print media will be resolved in the future

Comparable to a two-tier society, there will be a bipolar media landscape. The cheap advertising polluted popular media on the one hand and the costly sophisticated quality media on the other. Popular press will be characterized by low cost news content, copied and pasted from news agencies by underpaid trainees. In contrast to the quality journalism, this cost-effective method allows printed editions to be acquired to a low price at the station kiosk. The extreme version of this kind are the free weekly papers with post box distribution, claiming to be a local newspaper.

Can quality print media survive in the future? Since the shares of the advertising pie are constantly decreasing, sole print media cannot survive. Media houses will have to develop strong trademarks, offering their content both online and in printed titles.

A strong trade mark can only be created with the quality of the content. Quality journalism requires a network of correspondents in several countries of the world and editors with stamina to work on investigative stories. Since it is very expensive to maintain such a network of independent professionals, an indispensable concentration of news titles will take place. Only the strong brands will be able to afford this necessary independence.

In contrast to the market adjustment, investigative alliances are becoming common, as happened recently when the Panama Papers were revealed. So there is hope.