but I find it odd to say it’s not journalism if it’s not available for free. Newspapers weren’t free but they were definitely journalism.

As an author, I think it depends on where you think things begin and end. I publish in scientific journals, and its quite literally not possible to do the kind of work that I do if the information isn’t available. If I can’t access your work, I can’t “do science” on it because I can’t both a) be critical of it, and b) use it as the basis of my own work. Journalism, is in this sense, all the same; its transformative work that builds on things that already exist which the author themselves did not create.

The beginning of an article on the war on terror doesn’t begin or and when the author picks up the pen. That author will draw on sources and writing and journalism which already exists; while it may be transformative, it doesn’t exist as an island to itself. If I can’t read your work, I can’t audit it or build on it. Journalism has the same knowledge-building logic. Reporting is transformative work that stands on prior reporting; it’s meant to be checked, contextualized, and advanced by others, and barriers that prevent that from happening.

And to be clear, I spend real money every month on journalists whose coverage I think is good and important and should be supported. But I specifically support journalists who put their work out there freely; I don’t support operations that don’t put there work out there for all to consume.