[travisgriggs]

Segue here. I think it is time to rethink the term “free press”. In much the same way we had to wrestle with “free software.” Was it free as in beer? Or free as in speech?

The internet press is more “free as in beer” than ever. It costs nothing. It is probably about as “free as in speech” as it ever was, the variety is a testament to that. But it is not free from influence. It is tied to a profit feedback motive more than it ever has been. Put words on a screen, optimize for profit yield. Until the “press” regains its freedom from this, it will not be free. It will be profit constrained.

In a similar vein, I think it is silly we have social media. It’s profit media more than it is social.