Examining Problems, and Solutions, for Journalism in the Age of Online Platforms

On Feb 25, 2019, Free Press released Beyond Fixing Facebook. The authors, Timothy Karr and Craig Aaron, look beyond Facebook to address a deeper problem infecting the entire "attention economy": the abuse of targeted advertising. The report measures the rise of the online-platform business model against the fall of independent news reporting and calls for an economic realignment that recognizes the vital role noncommercial journalism plays in a democracy. The proposed solutions serve as a reminder that, although the situation is dire and requires urgent action, innovative ideas aimed at revitalzing the news and reinventing public-interest media are out there if we have the will to make them real.