AOL

AOL is a major American media organisation
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Unfortunately AOL has a view about content that we all ought to be aware of
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Why?
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Because we often read their content, often without being aware that it emanated from them.
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It doesn't take a veteran of the publishing world to realise that AOL has its heart in the wrong place with content.
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AOL sees content as a commodity it can sell ads against.
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That might make good business sense (though I doubt it), but it doesn't promote good journalism or even good entertainment
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The above was written by a former employee who was referring to a leaked copy of a 58 page memo called the AOL Way.
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This memo began circulating earlier this year and detailed requirements for more average page views per article from its writers output  –

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Up from 1,500 to 7,000
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More concentration on video up from 4% of stories to 70%.
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Among the strictures in the document:
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AOL tells its editors to decide what topics to cover based on four considerations
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Traffic potential
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Revenue potential
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Edit quality
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And turn-around time;
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Editors are told to decide whether to produce content based on "profitability consideration"
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Which balances what sort of ads can be placed against particular topics.
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Stories which cannot attract enough page views are in effect not worth writing;
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In-house staffers are expected to write between five and 10 stories per day.
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Imagine working for such an organisation.
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Your whole day under the gun to produce things that sell.
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Things that can manipulate you and me to read them.
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Fortunately such organisations tend to implode or wither away.
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Lets hope this one does too.
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There is so much to write about that needs saying.
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So much that could serve humanity.
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So much that they could, with conscience, take a lead on.
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Let's hope that they find a way to move away from the blind pursuit of short term profit.
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Unlikely with current corporate American business practices.