Facts are junk

As luck would have it. I’ve found myself in a few discussions about the media recently. Some were about the media business, others about what makes good radio content and others about what people will pay to watch, read and listen to.

 One thought kept bubbling to the top. Facts are junk.

 You can get facts anywhere. Google gives them away for free. Wikipedia does too (remember your parents paying thousands for out of date encyclopaedias?).

 The last thing I’m going to pay for, then, as a listener, reader or watcher are facts. Even if a media platform delivers them first, would I pay for a 30-second scoop on the competition (unless perhaps I was something horrific like a day trader)? Nope, nope and nope.

 So what does that leave? This is the good news. It leaves what every single one of us – everyone with a voice, a keyboard, a camera – has.

 An opinion. A point of view. Insights. Analysis. A life story no one else has.

 I’ll watch that, listen to that and read that. Hell, I’d even pay for it.