The Future For Journalism Will Always Embrace Change

[Commentary] The fate of journalism is not in the hands of institutions. The fate of journalism is in the hands of entrepreneurs. The impact of non-market competition - both government and charity - on the tender sprouts of entrepreneurial enterprises that will grow into a new ecosystem of news is a cause for concern. One such project is the New Business Models for News project at the City University of New York, which is designed to help journalists start and own successful businesses covering their communities. If one agrees that there can be such a tomorrow, then one is led not to desperate measures designed to protect incumbents, but instead to policies that encourage and enable investment and innovation. Rather than levying taxes for the sake of old media, we may want to give tax breaks to invention in new media and technology (by companies old and new). Rather than safeguarding the owners of presses, we should bring the entire nation online via broadband to create a new market and, with it, new development. Instead of declaring surrender to changing market forces, we should embrace them. Crisis? I see no crisis, only inexorable change.