I know two different concepts. In Germany most colleges are for free. The irony is the public colleges often have a better reputation that the private colleges where you have to pay thousands of Euros. Sadly I am too ill for getting my degree. I had to give up but it deteriorated my mental helath so much that I almost attempted. I find it really counterproductive that universities are this expensive in most countries in the world. This feels like a plutocracy and far away from a meritocracy.
On the other hand, there is a lot of free education on the internet. For example on Youtube but you don't get a degree for it. And no feedback to your writing. But there are so many gems on Youtube. There are extremely good lectures on Youtube with barely any views. I watched many of them.
Paying for information is even more interesting. I think many people pay for infotainment. The most popular pieces of mainstream outlets are often of low quality. The nuanced and well-researched niche articles are not that popular. I think with information I wouldn't say you get the best quality by paying the most money. Sometimes it can be true. For example if a newspapers has premium articles behind a special paywall. These articles can have a higher quality than other articles from that newspaper.
My personal conclusion is: Most people don't look for the best quality when it comes to information. Instead they want articles that are easy to consume, confirm their world view and give them an overall good feeling. Information should not be boring. Though, the outlets we read determine the topics we think about. You can be well informed about all public debates in your country but this won't matter if the news cycle moves on and all the information you have will be outdated.
My personal conclusion is: My favorite outlets (they are German so it won't be a help to share them) are between usual media outlets and science articles. I like to read articles by researchers on a topic they are specialized in. I like the intersection between scientifical journals and media publications.The articles are more sophisticated but they are not as easy to consume. It takes more effort to process the information. And sometimes you won't understand all concepts that are mentioned. Often you have to search for some technical terms for example. And I really like that.
They don't have as many articles as major news outlets but often more quality and more depth.
There is another example I am really interested in. I think this is a niche for decision/policy makers, lobbyist and financial decision makers. There are news subscriptions that cost several hundred bucks a month. For example Politico has subscription that cost between 7.000 and 50.000 dollars a year. I think I never read the content of them and I am not sure whether theoretically there would be ways to bypass such paywalls but I am not sure whether the information you receive are really worthh it. I am not the person to ask this question. But I was baffled when I read there are subcriptions for such a price.
A whole different topic would be paying for AI chatbots. It is guilty pleasure of me. But I am not exactly sure if they really make me smarter. I have the feeling I make better decisions if I get feedback that let me rethink my intiial thoughts. But this should not end in a co-dependency.
On the other hand, there is a lot of free education on the internet. For example on Youtube but you don't get a degree for it. And no feedback to your writing. But there are so many gems on Youtube. There are extremely good lectures on Youtube with barely any views. I watched many of them.
Paying for information is even more interesting. I think many people pay for infotainment. The most popular pieces of mainstream outlets are often of low quality. The nuanced and well-researched niche articles are not that popular. I think with information I wouldn't say you get the best quality by paying the most money. Sometimes it can be true. For example if a newspapers has premium articles behind a special paywall. These articles can have a higher quality than other articles from that newspaper.
My personal conclusion is: Most people don't look for the best quality when it comes to information. Instead they want articles that are easy to consume, confirm their world view and give them an overall good feeling. Information should not be boring. Though, the outlets we read determine the topics we think about. You can be well informed about all public debates in your country but this won't matter if the news cycle moves on and all the information you have will be outdated.
My personal conclusion is: My favorite outlets (they are German so it won't be a help to share them) are between usual media outlets and science articles. I like to read articles by researchers on a topic they are specialized in. I like the intersection between scientifical journals and media publications.The articles are more sophisticated but they are not as easy to consume. It takes more effort to process the information. And sometimes you won't understand all concepts that are mentioned. Often you have to search for some technical terms for example. And I really like that.
They don't have as many articles as major news outlets but often more quality and more depth.
There is another example I am really interested in. I think this is a niche for decision/policy makers, lobbyist and financial decision makers. There are news subscriptions that cost several hundred bucks a month. For example Politico has subscription that cost between 7.000 and 50.000 dollars a year. I think I never read the content of them and I am not sure whether theoretically there would be ways to bypass such paywalls but I am not sure whether the information you receive are really worthh it. I am not the person to ask this question. But I was baffled when I read there are subcriptions for such a price.
A whole different topic would be paying for AI chatbots. It is guilty pleasure of me. But I am not exactly sure if they really make me smarter. I have the feeling I make better decisions if I get feedback that let me rethink my intiial thoughts. But this should not end in a co-dependency.
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