He cited pressure from the Knight Ridder company to increase profits, while staffing and news space were reduced. Harris is only one of many journalism executives who find it harder to hold the line against corporate pressure to turn what used to be a public service institution into a profit center. AOL is exerting enormous pressure on the magazines and divisions of Time Inc. to bring up profits. The problem is that journalism has never really been a profitable business. A friend of mine recently went for a job interview with a new media television company.
News is what publishers and networks traditionally spent money on.
That was the heart of their production. It is what sold the magazine, the newspaper, or the network. When you go to the movies, you accept the fact that the story you see is fictional. When you go to your newspaper, magazine, or television station, you have a right to expect that what you see is true, with no commercial influence. Several years ago, I proposed a story to Life Magazine.