Speaking in Hong Kong, AP honcho Tom Curley declares a surplus of news. Which either means there is too much happening in the world, or that there are too many journalists. Or, I suppose, both. Well, gee-that’s a novel take. It’s actually a little refreshing-so much for that “our first obligation is to the public” hooey. Out with all that hoary, maudlin sentimentality, and in with the modern. When using words like “protect” and “defend,” we’re to understand that the AP-not some retrograde, Dewey-esque notion of a public-will now be on the receiving end of such bracingly active verbs.
Also, Mr. Curley has quite an affinity for the word “deserve,” particularly when the subject is first person plural, and the object is “money.”
And so I ask again: what industry ever bailed itself out of trouble by defeaturing the product and raising price?
