Fourth, the billion or so dollars spent on elections in 2008 may seem large but it's about the same as the amount Americans spend yearly on bubble gum (source: Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner ).
Another problem is that the libertarian approach to journalism competing news providers with diverse, partisan biases leaves little room for professionalism and objectivity. In fact, there is an inherent bias in the market. Due to self-interest, the people with power and money will tend to support conservative views: anti-regulation, anti-taxation, and pro-welfare-for-the-rich. So, market-based journalism will always have a rightward and corrupting bias.
Moreover, even conservative and moderate newspapers are struggling. A few effective national news companies may survive, but local and regional news will struggle. Who then will be a watchdog on government?
Dealing with human cupidity
Self-interest leads the rich to amass power and wealth, while causing the average citizen to skimp on paying for news and investigative journalism for which the benefits are diffuse.
We have government, religion, and art to constrain and redirect our baser instincts. Without government, we'd live as hunter-gatherers, or in a Somalia-like state of constant war. With government funding, we have a chance for diverse, balanced and solvent journalism.
Afterword: "Public goods, private bads" is of course a one-sided view of politics. Sometimes, "Public bads, private goods" is more descriptive. Sometimes governments are repressive and corrupt. My point is: we need both government and private initiative. Under the influence of corrosive conservative and libertarian ideology, America has veered too far to the right. Moreover, appropriate public policy can have the effect of correcting public bads: we need government-funded journalism to act as a watchdog on both private and public corruption.
Some useful links about public news media
Building a Digital Democracy through Public Media
How
to Save Journalism
Public
Media and the Decommodification of News
