Why we need to pay for content now, even though it’s more available than ever before?

It almost seems like we are re-learning the well-rehearsed old practice of the 20th century. Before the major boom of the internet, people used to pay for their printed media, their newspapers, journals and magazines. Since available content has exploded well beyond the growth of audiences, the value of the product is being questioned according to the so well known trade practices.

However, we cannot forget: media workers are, after all, workers. It takes a lot of labour to produce good content, and often even more to bring it before its potential audience.

So the question remains: when a handful of digital giants swallow promotion money, and hedge funds exploit and bankrupt traditional media, who’s left out there to pay for our journalism?

Guests Fiona Nzingo is a journalist from Kenya, who currently serves as membership and engagement manager at the Global Forum for Media Development. She is based in Stockholm, Sweden.

Dr. Gábor Polyák is the head of ELTE MÉDIA, the School of Media Studies at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. He’s also the head of the think tank Mérték Media Monitor.

Vladimir Radinović is a co-founder of Podcast.rs from Belgrade, Serbia. He is on the board of directors of the Community Media Forum of Europe.

We are hosted by this peculiar library of the School of English and American Studies at the Eötvös Loránd University, a.k.a. ELTE, in the very heart of Budapest, Hungary.

Creative team Réka Kinga Papp, editor-in-chief Merve Akyel, art director Szilvia Pintér, producer Salma Shaka, writer-editor Margarita Lechner, writer-editor Priyanka Hutschenreiter, project assistant Zsófia Gabriella Papp, production associate

Management Hermann Riessner managing director Judit Csikós project manager Csilla Nagyné Kardos, office administration

Video Crew Budapest Nóra Ruszkai, sound engineering Gergely Áron Pápai, photography László Halász, photography

Postproduction Nóra Ruszkai, lead video editor Réka Kinga Papp, conversation editor

Art Victor Maria Lima, animation Cornelia Frischauf, theme music

Captions and subtitles Julia Sobota Daniela Univazo Mars Zaslavsky Marta Ferdebar
Olena Yermakova Farah Ayyash

Disclosure This talk show is a Display Europe production: a ground-breaking media platform anchored in public values. This programme is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and the European Cultural Foundation. Importantly, the views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and speakers only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.