posted on Jul, 4 2010 @ 04:20 PM
I think most people are already 'paying' to access their daily news, but aren't realizing it. These corporations that control the dissemination of
news are very adept at bundling it with other services and then slowly (or perhaps not so slowly) increasing the cost over time.
Most people are already paying their cable or phone company to get "Internet" and other media services, right? This may be the primary way folks
get information now (whether it is through email, browing, twittering, texting, social media, or other handheld devices).
With mobile device apps and other services that charge on a per-view or per-application install, we really are already paying and paving the way for
more of this to be thrust on us all. Not only are advertisers paying to get to us, but they're making us pay to see their full package!
You can go to libraries and browse Internet and news sites for 'free', but our taxes are already paying for this access. In a sense, we are all
funding the channels of communication that only pollute our thinking further with advertising and pay-per-view items.
It is a certainty that news will continue to be put into 'packages' that entice us to pay some small amount for unrestricted access/viewing, and
more and more we'll see this as a simple and easy way to 'only get what we want' (making it appear that it's our choice alone for what we view).
This is a similar concept to how grocery stores work - put certain items in locations where we will see them and believe we're making the choice when
in fact statistics and positioning are in play to get the most consumer bang for the buck. Our choice of what news we 'subscribe' to and what is
discussed is based on many corporations vying for our attention and using the means of communication that entice the most amount of people into their
little scheme.
This is a slippery slope since we're essentially double paying for everything - we pay for the transport mechanism, which includes taxes that fund
much of what we get anyhow, and then we're paying the corporations that control the packaging of these news bytes.
We are all trapped. The bundles (like meals at MCDonalds) are priced too well to ignore/avoid, and we "consume" these things at peril of losing our
sanity and reason while we pollute our senses with the junk that only addicts us further.
The solution is to disconnect entirely from the deals, the steals, and the instant gratification of jumping into the rabbit hole that advertisers and
corporations need - making us think we want/need/must have their latest spin on stuff, and will pay anything, even insignificant amounts for.
Initially it may appear free or nearly so, but it never is.