Member-only story
The News Exists to Sell Itself
It’s business, not charity
Hermione Granger is one of the smartest fictional characters in literary history. Even she needed a reminder of why news exists.
Hermione: “So the Daily Prophet exists to tell people what they want to hear, does it?”
Rita Skeeter: “The Prophet exists to sell itself, you silly girl.”
As simple as this concept is, most of us still need a reminder about this from time to time. A lot of people’s frustration with the media comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of why it exists.
The media doesn’t exist because of an altruistic desire to spread the truth. If that were the goal, non-profits would deliver our news. The media exists to make money. That is why businesses deliver our news, not charities.
Charlie Munger said it best,
“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.”
— Charlie Munger
As long as the incentive is money, the result will be whatever makes the most money. That doesn't mean that everything is fake news. Sometimes the truth and profit happen to line up. Just don’t be surprised if the truth gets distorted or outright changed in the name of making a few more bucks.
