I bet OpenAI genuinely believes they're using their money to help free media exist. And TBPN genuinely believes this is the right choice for economic freedom so they can continue to operate. I bet they even had a convo such as "we'll never tell you what to say," and both sides genuinely believed it.

But this never ends well. Even if there's never a conversation about it, directly, the implication is there.

I don't care about TBPN, specifically. I just really, really wish we had a better way for media to fund itself independently. (And I say this as someone who pays for some media, but not nearly enough. I don't have $10/mo for every outlet that deserves it.)

EDIT: sama basically said what I said he would: https://x.com/sama/status/2039773740586918137

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unfitted2545 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Obviously this will never happen, but what do you think about a system where there's a "media" fund from the government that gets distributed to several independent media outlets?

The decision on who and how much to fund gets decided by a randomised group in the population, like jury duty, maybe every 2 years?

I don't know if this could potentially make the media companies worse at reporting facts as they would try and raise money by appealing to people, but with enough competition it should sort its self out as long as there's no outside funding?

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okanat an hour ago | parent | next [-]

> Obviously this will never happen, but what do you think about a system where there's a "media" fund from the government that gets distributed to several independent media outlets?

This is how German system works actually. So, it DID HAPPEN. The German government has only some control over the budget but the actual media companies control the content themselves. Every resident has to pay a monthly contribution. This is a contribution to an independent account / budget for media only. It is not a tax that goes into a common pot that politics can decide to take out.

There are national outlets like ZDF, Tagesschau, Deutschlandradio and regional ones like Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Bayerischer Rundfunk. Each design and present their own programmes.

See more details on: https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/english

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collinmcnulty 23 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I would like to see a system like New York's campaign finance vouchers, where individual citizens get to decide where the public funds are directed. That way you have to have an audience and you have to appeal to people's sense of what's truly valuable, rather than just trying to farm views.

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tshaddox an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> The decision on who and how much to fund gets decided by a randomised group in the population, like jury duty, maybe every 2 years?

Why not fill all government positions via random selection? The ancient Athenians thought that if your government officials were chosen by a process other than sortition, you don't have a democracy.

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gkoberger 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I mean, in theory I like this. But look what happened to NPR and PBS; it was ultimately at the behest of the president. They lost their revenue for not saying the "right" things.

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unfitted2545 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

That's true, and in the UK we've just removed jury duty trials for some crimes at the snap of a finger.

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greenchair 39 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I know it is hard to see the bias when you are in the bubble along with them.

	▲	gkoberger 34 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Great, show me something they consistently misrepresent. I agree that everyone has, by definition, some bias, but NPR/PBS tend to avoid editorialization significantly more than their counterparts.

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toomuchtodo 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This was reversed upon judicial review. Checks and balances.

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5768399/npr-pbs-trump-f...

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postflopclarity 3 hours ago | parent [-]

the damage is already done.

	▲	toomuchtodo 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Damage is done constantly in human existence, all around us. This is no different. Failure is when you stop trying. If you’re tired, rest, don’t quit.

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Petersipoi 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[flagged]

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coloneltcb 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

say what you will about TBPN, but it was never objective journalism

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3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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tootie an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Bezos said WaPo would retain independence and it did. For a while. Then he meddled to the point of ruin.

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jrflowers an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I am sure that what you mentioned was said, but it is surprisingly difficult to have a conversation in a room full of these

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_eWdX4qBUyQ3D

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dist-epoch 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> "we'll never tell you what to say,"

TBPN had almost all the big AI names in there, and they were extremely friendly. This would have been a problem anyway. They are not the "tough questions" kind of place.

	▲	lobb-deep an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Fairly good encapsulation of chomskey's manufactured consent. TBPN was chosen precisely because they'll never have to tell them what to say.

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5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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heliumtera 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>I bet OpenAI genuinely believes they're using their money to help free media exist

>TBPN genuinely believes this is the right choice for economic freedom

Company literally sold to someone else, we now conclude they believe to achieve economic freedom.

>Company genuinely believing anything.

Yep, it is 2026 and words mean nothing in, we better ooga booga or something

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gos9 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[flagged]