It’s so frustrating that the panel consistently ignores the main issue with regard to the laws being implemented in Australia to force Google and Facebook to negotiate a payment to newspapers for linking to or reposting news.
I agree that its the wrong approach and that Murdoch is partly behind it but there is a real problem in Australia and around the world in that the majority of reporters have lost their jobs. Local newspapers are all closing down, magazines are closing, the major dailies are consolidating and reducing staff. There is nobody watching dishonest local government councillors.
The cause is simply the loss of income due to most advertising going to Google and Facebook. Part of the problem is that news reports are easily replicated so there is no point in going to the publisher’s website and contributing to a paywall.
There is no easy answer, micropayments, copyright laws, taxes used to subsidise reporters? Maybe citizen journalists with some method of paying them for their work.
Without any reporters, democracy is doomed as the only news is made up by cranks and undemocratic countries.
Why doesn’t the TWIG panel discuss this issue? I would have thought it was a major concern for Jeff Jarvis at least.