The Information Industry: Does it Have a Future?

Abstract

The wealth of information, the fragmentation and polarization of audiences, the development of the portfolio of offers, changes in the ways of communicating, and the weakening of the media companies forced the information industries to rethink their business models, in view of the unavoidable decline of revenues from the payments of users and the sale of advertising. Some observers mistake the plight of the media with journalism; but these are not synonymous. Journalism is not a form of media; it is not a distribution platform; it is also not an industry or a company, nor a business model, or a job. Journalism is an activity, a set of practices through which information and knowledge are obtained, processed and transmitted. The economic and business prospects are important to answer questions about the current and future state of the news industry, because its fundamental challenges do involve new financing strategies, costs, and public policies to deal with the inevitable challenges in the XXI century.