The splintering of the fourth estate
The American essayist Walter Lippmann, in his famous 1922 book, Public Opinion, made it plain that the press could not live without the subsidy of advertising.
He wrote of the reader:
"Nobody thinks for a moment that he ought to pay for his newspaper … The citizen will pay for his telephone, his railroad rides, his motor car, his entertainment. But he does not pay openly for his news … He will, however, pay handsomely for the privilege of having someone read about him. He will pay directly to advertise … The public pays for the press, but only when the payment is concealed."
via m.guardian.co.uk
Zitat aus der lesenswerten Zusammenfassung der Andrew Olle lecture 2010, gehalten von Alan Rusbridger am 19.11.2010 in Sydney.
