At no other time in history has the link between the consumers and the producers of news been more direct. Yet at the same time "the media" faces unprecedented public criticism and is on the verge of an existential crisis. Most people understand that the digital revolution is responsible for the decline in the quality and quantity of journalism, but the issue is far more complex than video killing the radio star. The rapid growth of free and fast online news sources has meant that consumers have turned away from their comparatively slow and expensive print competitors. Social media took breaking news away from news organisations, and blogs and other digital news platforms that were cheap, quick and relatively easy to produce, truly democratised the distribution of media. This made it difficult for existing news organisations to compete - even if they went digital. As the number of print readers dwindled, advertisers naturally started looking elsewhere and directed their spending tow...
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