Saving the Media: Capitalism, Crowdfunding, and Democracy

"The media are in crisis. Not only the print press but the entire news production chain. Faced with growing competition and inexorably declining advertising revenue, newspapers, radio and TV news operations, and pure Internet players are all in search of a new model. Based on an innovative study of the media in Europe and the United States, this book proposes a new business model, the nonprofit media organization, midway between a foundation and a joint-stock company. This new model would encourage the development of media organizations independent of outside shareholders, advertisers, and government but dependent on their readers, employees, and Internet users. It is a business model designed to meet the challenges of the digital revolution and the realities of the twenty-first century. A debate has begun in which the stakes are nothing less than the future of democracy."--Provided by publisher.