Investigative journalism Quote by Jeff Bezos
““The Post is famous for its investigative journalism. It pours energy and investment and sweat and dollars into uncovering important stories. And then a bunch of websites summarize that [work] in about four minutes and readers can access that news for free. One question is, how do you make a living in that kind of environment? If you can't, it's difficult to put the right resources behind it. ... Even behind a paywall, websites can summarize your work and make it available for free. From a reader point of view, the reader has to ask, 'Why should I pay you for all that journalistic effort when I can get it for free from another site?' ””
About This Quote
Source Interview: 2013 Harvard Business Review interview with Jeff Bezos
The difficulty of monetizing investigative journalism when free summaries undermine revenue.
In simple terms: Free summaries hurt journalism profits.
Find sustainable funding models for quality journalism.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- newsrooms
- media startups
- content creators
- policy makers
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can journalism retain value in a free-access culture?
- What incentives encourage readers to pay for original reporting?
Paywalls can limit audience reach and impact.