Source: NYT > Business (paywall)
Conde's optimism about a pendulum swing reflects traditional media's shrinking leverage—NBCUniversal can't force audiences back to its platforms, it can only hope algorithmic exhaustion and AI-generated garbage make institutional journalism look valuable by comparison. The actual question isn't whether people prefer vetted reporting over slop, but whether they'll pay for it or accept lower-quality free alternatives, a question the industry has avoided for fifteen years.