Blockchain for Journalism: Possible Solutions

According to the Tow Center for Digital Journalism research, if blockchain can store almost any kind of data that needs to be secured, and can be accessed and modified by many different people, then it is a potential solution to a lot of scenarios involving both data that needs to be kept track of and people working collaboratively. The journalism industry is one such case study, since the way, tens of thousands of stories generate value every day is based on the intricate system of news production, distribution, and consumption — meaning how stories are created, shared, marketed, listened and reacted to.

Journalists need to be paid, news stories must be trusted by audiences, and uncorroborated information or rumors must be countered by maintaining a level of transparency around how information is gathered and how news stories are being told.

Targeted solutions use blockchain as an add-on to a news organization’s infrastructure, for instance by subscribing to a blockchain-based service. These services include creating blockchains to securely store the timestamps of the publication date and provenance of news stories. For the advertising business, on which journalism heavily relies, blockchains can store and keep track of ad impressions so that media organizations do not overpay for the inflated statistics of a particular ad. News organizations can become stakeholders in what are called “token-curated registries” (TCRs), where a list of business partners or other entities are ranked for specific purposes, and the registry is “edited” through a blockchain.

Alternatively, hybrid solutions may use blockchains to store different kinds of data, but also construct a network of stakeholder-driven organizations around a private blockchain so that participating nodes can curate the data stored under the blockchain, such as a token-curated registry, and also participate in the governance of the entire network.

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The possible uses include:

Micropayments to support smaller publications

While a reported 93% of adults in the United States get some portion of their news from an online source, digital publications are a dime a dozen. For any online publication, the idea of users paying on a per-article basis has appeal. These micropayments would reward authors for attracting loyal audiences and allow publications to break from advertising-dependent models that often come with conditions with respect to what content can and cannot be published. If audiences prove willing to embrace this system for publications that are worth their paying modest amounts for, smart contract technology serves as a system that could automatically, immediately process the payments.

Cryptocurrencies to fund journalists

In order to help re-establish news journalists who want to break real stories, new blockchain-based funding models are turning to cryptocurrencies as a means for readers to help fund the journalists and outlets they believe are fighting the good fight. A reader-endorsement model of funding is to represent a needed break from the binary, paywall vs. advertising choice that has hampered the industry’s credibility.

Blockchain-enabled news platforms

The lines between advertisement and journalism have been increasingly blurred by the injection of corporate sponsorship money into the industry. Publications are increasingly turning to content sponsored by corporate partners, and often those pieces are virtually indistinguishable from real news. This presents obvious conflicts of interest that further degrade the credibility of an ailing media industry.

Blockchain-enabled news platforms have several aims. For one, they will provide the technological underpinning for the direct funding of journalism. Secondly, they will exist outside of traditional funding models, allowing greater freedom for journalists to pursue the stories that are worthy of being reported on. These platforms will also archive stories, as the blockchain technology that allows for their existence also has the inherent benefit of permanence.

Permanently maintaining archives

It is important for journalists to maintain their online archives, whether it is for the sake of obtaining more and greater employment opportunities or simply as a matter of pride. But when a publication closes its door or ceases operation of its website, the cost of maintaining servers is often too great to keep an archive of past work. The blockchain is a permanent record stored across a distributed network. This means that journalists and other writers will have a permanent means of storage for their work, which provides a method for citing past articles and essays when establishing their credentials to prospective employers.

Tokenizing reader investment in journalism

Media consolidation has forced startup journalists and publications to flock to jobs and mergers with the big wigs of the industry. The move toward a model by which readers help invest in and sustain operations of small, independent publications is being launched in order to maintain agenda-free reporting. This movement will be facilitated in part by the ability for publications to reward readers for their support, and for readers to show love to the publications they enjoy by investing in the proprietary coins that some of these publications are launching as a means of fulfilling the cost of operations.

Eliminating advertisements

The heavy reliance on advertising has diluted the quantity and quality of worthwhile content in both digital and physical publications, and readers are unwilling to wade through a seemingly endless slew of ads to locate the content they value. Considering that more than 28% of U.S. internet users have installed some sort of ad blocker, and that advertising frameworks are largely dependent on the likes of Google and Facebook, alternative means for publications to remain commercially viable must be tested.

Much of the benefit of blockchain-enabled news and journalism outlets is a new paradigm that allows readers to directly contribute to the sustenance of their favorite publications through direct donations on secure blockchain platforms. This will help eliminate or at least decrease the dependence on advertisers, who often pay to have unsightly, distracting presences on websites and in physical issues of a magazine or paper.

Implementing reader input more effectively

Apathy toward the media has created a malaise, and the effects are wide-ranging. Outright distrust in the old news media is rampant. A Gallup poll found that 44% of respondents believe news reporting is inaccurate, and that 64% believe that most news they see on social media is inaccurate. While users continue to interact with the news, too many outlets continue to ignore or fail to account for the wants of their readership, to their own detriment.

There are numerous blockchain news platforms that, having issued their own coin, allow investors to vote on decisions pertaining to the direction of the newsroom, much like stockholders can. Because readers will play a central role in funding these new digital newsrooms, they should have a say in new proposals to ensure that they may see that their investment is being repaid. This is a winning formula for the journalists as well, as they can ensure that they are providing a service that is in tune with investors, and in doing so increase the odds that their venture remains funded.

Compensating commenters to incentivize interaction and inspire loyalty

In the era of neverending content streams and constant refreshes, finding a way to get readers to stay focused on an article for more than a few seconds can seem more difficult than solving a crossword puzzle blindfolded. The average internet page visit lasts less than one minute. Rewarding commenters for contributing information to an article or issuing a correction could help compel readers to interact more deeply and longer with each written piece. By establishing a framework to provide coins or compensation through a blockchain platform, a loyal readership eager to parse articles for potential errors means exposing those readers to quality content, increasing the chances that they will return not only for potential compensation but for the intellectual value that the content provides.

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