Diary of a Mad Editor

No, I’m not referring to what is arguably the best film in the long-running Star Wars franchise — I’m referring to yesterday’s announcement that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and several other media heavyweights including Time-Warner, Hearst and Conde Nast would be co-conspirators in launching a digital publishing platform and storefront to sell their digital content.

This announcement comes with both good and bad tidings for consumers of digital content.

The good news here is that it’s a clear sign that big media is finally waking up to the fact that digital publishing isn’t some kind of fad — that it is the future. It’s also good news that these companies clearly recognize that with so many devices coming into the marketplace on which to display this content, its not good business to publish their content to only one device.

The bad news is that this move is obviously the latest attempt by big media to force consumers to pay for digital content. News Corp., for example, has been on the frontlines of the movement to create a pay-for-content Internet.

I’m not against publishers making money, but I am against monopolies. More digital media properties in the hands of a few leads not only to higher prices for consumers, but allows those few companies to control the flow of information and makes it harder for smaller publishers to compete. Up until now, digital media was the last bastion of renegade publishers. Outfits like News Corp. weren’t as heavily invested in digital media in the past. That has changed with big media gobbling up smaller providers and even the large Telecoms jumping the fence to become not only access-providers, but owners and distributors of digital content, the digital universe is getting smaller — less democratic and less friendly. I’m still betting that many consumers still won’t want to pay for most digital content, but if I’m wrong, this could mean the end of the digital revolution as we know it and the beginning of a digital publishing hegemony that rivals the level of control big media has had over print publishing for decades.

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