Dean Starkman on the Failure of Commercial Journalism Models in Book Edited by Anya Schiffrin

CMDS Fellow Dean Starkman co-authored a chapter in a new book entitled Media Capture: How Money, Digital Platforms, and Governments Control the News, edited by CMDS Advisory Board member Anya Schiffrin, published by Columbia University Press.

The chapter Starkman co-authored with Ryan Chittum is entitled “The Hamster Wheel, Triumphant: Commercial Models for Journalism Are Not Working; Let’s Try Something Else.” It consists of two parts: one half documents the failure of digital commercial journalism models in the U.S., and the second half proposes a public solution found in the tax code in Hungary.

The volume features pathbreaking analysis from journalists and academics of the changing nature and peril of media capture—how formerly independent institutions fall under the sway of governments, plutocrats, and corporations. Contributors include Emily Bell, Felix Salmon, Joshua Marshall, Joel Simon, Nikki Usher, among others.