When the Guardian launched it was an effort to deliver the news. However, with any legitimate operation there are expenses. As a result, there must be revenue derived from the content produced in order to pay the operational expenses of keeping the publication churning out content, or the what people like to call “the news.”
What sets us aside from our competitors is that we are not in this business for clicks, views, and ratings. I refuse to be a part of a place where others are worried about being “first” by breaking the news “first.” I refuse to be part of an operation that is constantly saying, “we were first!” or “we have 750 more shares on that link than they do.” — I refuse. It disgusts me, it makes me sick, angry, and upset. In fact, I very much look forward to the day that Facebook is dead, and by my calculations, it should happen in the next 15-20 years with a new generation.
We are different than the ones who are in the “click business” — they can have that; they can have that stress, that adrenaline rush, or whatever it is that makes their motor turn. They can have their “click bait” headlines and their “viral” pieces.
The Guardian will not be a part of such gutter-garbage. We will not cheapen journalism for a quick buck; absolutely not.
We produce the news. And, if that means we are second, third, fourth, or hell, even dead last, we know we do it the best we can with every ounce of ethics inside our beings.
People forget the history of news, particularly broadcast news, which is what created “the ratings.”
Let’s take a history lesson from Aaron Sorkin:
Two men that most of you have never heard of — William Paley and David Sarnoff — went to Washington D.C. to cut a deal with Congress. Congress would allow the fledgling networks free use of taxpayer-owned airwaves in exchange for one public service. That public service would be one hour of air time set aside every night for informational broadcasting, or what we now call “the evening news.” Congress, unable to anticipate the enormous capacity television would have to deliver consumers to advertisers, failed to include in its deal the one requirement that would have changed our national discourse immeasurably for the better.
Congress forgot to add that under no circumstances could there be paid advertising during informational broadcasting. They forgot to say that taxpayers will give you the airwaves for free and for 23 hours a day you should make a profit, but for one hour a night you work for us. And now those network newscasts, anchored through history by honest-to-God newsmen with names like Murrow and Reasoner and Huntley and Brinkley and Buckley and Cronkite and Rather and Russert; now they have to compete with the likes of me; a news reporter and editor who’s in the exact same business as the writers of TMZ.
It might come as a surprise to you that some of history’s greatest American journalists are working right now, exceptional minds with years of experience and an unshakeable devotion to reporting the news. But these voices are a small minority now and they don’t stand a chance against the circus when the circus comes to town. They’re overmatched.
I’m quitting the circus and switching teams. I’m going with the guys who are getting creamed, even if that means we are dead last and have a million or even five million less monthly visitors.
From this moment on, we’ll be deciding what goes on our platform and how it’s presented to you based on the simple truth that nothing is more important to a democracy than a well-informed electorate.
We’ll endeavor to put information in a broader context because we know that very little news is born at the moment it comes across our desk. We’ll be the champion of facts and the mortal enemy of innuendo, speculation, hyperbole, and nonsense. We’re not waiters in a restaurant serving you the stories you asked for just the way you like them prepared.
I have invested my life into this operation and there is no going back. It is either sink-or-swim; succeed or fail. We’re the Guardian. We do the news, not clicks. And, we will guard the news and the true meaning of journalism with every last fiber of our being.