Why Pierre Omidyar and Jeff Bezos' Media Purchases Are Great News For Journalism

This Could Transform The Future Of Journalism
Pierre Omidyar, chairman and founder of eBay Inc., speaks during a television interview in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010. The Omidyar Network, established in 2004 by Omidyar, announced today it will dedicate $55 million to fund technology investments around the world to improve quality of life. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pierre Omidyar, chairman and founder of eBay Inc., speaks during a television interview in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010. The Omidyar Network, established in 2004 by Omidyar, announced today it will dedicate $55 million to fund technology investments around the world to improve quality of life. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Perhaps the biggest news story in American journalism so far this year is the huge infusion of cash it has received, more than half a billion dollars, from American tech leaders. Founders of eBay, Amazon, and Facebook are among a growing group of tech entrepreneurs who want to build a bright new future for American media, and they are putting their minds—and their checkbooks—to the challenge. Pierre Omidyar’s $250 million investment in a new digital media company came on the heels of Jeff Bezos’s purchase of The Washington Post for a similar amount. Their goal? To overhaul the business model—and the focus—of our fourth estate.

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