Editorial: Online Journalism at Risk?

Hiding away amidst the continuing fuss over Brexit and the still ongoing bother over social media use, is news that online journalism is at risk from the monopolisation of digital advertising by web giants like Google and Facebook.

We have said before that blaming the big web companies for all ills is unfair but again we must declare an interest; anything that poses some kind of threat, whether real or not, to KJM Today may have an effect on our growth.

KJM Today does not, as yet, carry advertising but as we continue to grow and readership increases (quite dramatically over the last month) it is inevitable that the cost of running this site will also grow.

To deal with that will mean the money that advertising brings in will be needed at some point. If therefore, there is an imbalance in how that advertising revenue is distributed then any probe into it is to be welcomed. And not just by KJM Today.

There are numerous web-based publications now available and all are easy to access from the comfort of home, as well as on a train to work or elsewhere. That ease of access is to be welcomed and yes, the competition it provides also – it is only by having that competition that standards will be raised and maintained, thus making both print and online publications worth reading.

We hope that our standards are meeting the expectations of our readers (please email us if they fall short) and we also hope that our prospects of gaining revenue to help our running costs will be via a level playing field.