The point you make above is, of course, totally valid. But I look back to the time when Desktop Publishing technology started spreading and Photoshop 1.0 was released. The tools empowered people who never before would have been able to produce their own printed publications.

Many of the flyers, newsletters and brochures which resulted were, inevitably, absolute rubbish.

But the toolset also allowed the emergence of a new generation of graphic designers whose work now sets standards, wins prizes and is a self-evident part of our visual environment.

My feeling is that the same kind of possibilities will be exploited now that the cost of entry for video reporting/storytelling is so low.

Good to discover AiB!

Malcolm in Abu Dhabi

There has to be more too it than profit, it has to be seen as a service. It is much easier to make journalism sustainable when you utilize wealth disparities due to globalization. It’s not to say you should take advantage of those in developing countries, but that they are desperate for the chance to show the world about their country, and can afford to work for much less than American or West European staff on long leaves from home and family.

I would charge that journalism has never been profitable, and was started initially not altruistically to assist the human condition, but by wealthy playboys wanting to manipulate power and present their own face on world events.

We do have to afford to do journalism, but that doesn’t mean catering to the stories that advertisers want, it also means the audience has to demand better news.