Can anything save the news biz?

If you were in the business of making a bunch of money in 2026, you probably wouldn’t pick journalism. From social media to AI, the attention economy has upended the economic calculus for delivering news. But some entrepreneurs are looking to buck the trend.<br /><br />Today on the show, we examine what the success of two startups could mean for the future of journalism.<br /><br /><strong>Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: </strong><a href="https://tix.to/pm-book-tour" target="_blank"><strong>https://tix.to/pm-book-tour</strong></a><strong>. </strong><br /><br /><strong>Related episodes: </strong><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/05/13/1250902337/npr-cpb-public-radio-funding-101" target="_blank">A brief history of NPR funding</a> <br /><br /><em>For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at </em><a href="http://plus.npr.org/" target="_blank"><em>plus.npr.org</em></a><em>.</em> <em>Fact-checking by </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez" target="_blank"><em>Sierra Juarez</em></a><em>. Music by </em><a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><em>Drop Electric</em></a><em>. Find us: </em><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney" target="_blank"><em>TikTok</em></a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/" target="_blank"><em>Instagram</em></a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money" target="_blank"><em>Newsletter</em></a><em>.</em><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>