"Bifurcation" of the News: A Perfect Storm?

Good Sunday morning...

I missed it, but this past week the AP sparked a debate about who pays for news, and as a freelance reporter this hit home, especially as I watched a story I reported for NPR hit the internet and then get picked up by NECN... and so on.

Case in point: if people can get their news for free, how long will they continue to pay for it?

This article on the Wired blog discusses the consequences for people like me of what it calls "the bifurcation of publishing and news-gathering". In other words, I gathered the news and it was published by NPR, thereby fanning out to NPR's member stations around the country, people's blogs, and so on.

There might be "a hidden subsidy" for NPR as all these outlets redirect traffic to my story on NPR.org, but there is no further compensation coming to me.

Blogs (including mine) play an increasing role in disseminating news, but I agree with Wired that they also pose a threat to the enterprise of journalism, especially public radio and its listener-dependent business model. How long will we keep meeting our goals during on-air fundraisers with the argument that we can't do what we do without "you, our listeners"?!

If/when people stop buying that, who is going to pay the bills, and in turn, compensate me for my hard work as a reporter?

Maybe Wired's John Abell is right in saying, "There is a storm coming. It just might be The Perfect Storm."