On Hedge Funds and Freedom - Good Ship Earth 8:15am 5-21-2024

With the advent of the internet local newspapers have been under attack, tech companies like Google strip mine information from traditional news sources for free and then use it to sell their advertising, if that sounds like theft, in my opinion it is. The tech industry gets a free ride and newspapers across the country who are doing the real work are paying the price.

I learned just how dire the situation had become when I recently interviewed Rick Goldsmith, producer and director of  the documentary Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink. Rick was in town for a screening of his film that evening and was very gracious to drop by our studio before the screening with Will Campbell Associate Editor of the Columbian Newspaper. 

The following are excerpts from our conversation about the massive changes in the media landscape and how newspapers are particularly hit hard by big tech and vulture capitalists.