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+---
+layout: post
+title: "News Websites Are Dumpster Fires"
+date: 2019-05-29
+---
+
+
+Online news outlets are a dying breed and many users have decided to consume information elsewhere. Why? Because the news industry has become a cesspool of anti-consumer and blackhat practices that has eroded trust for the sake of money.
+
+## What news sites get wrong
+
+I could write up an entire essay about all the shady practices that *most* news sites are guilty of, but here are just a few top level issues:
+
+- Clickbait headings with misleading information
+- Disabling the user from reading if ad-block is present
+- Tracking the user with 3rd party scripts
+- Taking massive performance hits (specifically on mobile due to huge JavaScript blocks)
+- Pop-up ads
+- Fixed headers or footers which leads to harder readability / accidental element interactions
+
+## But they need ad revenue!
+
+If your business is solely dependent on tracking scripts, tricking users with clickbait titles and using archaic ads - then you're destined to fail regardless. These practices create an unsafe and unhealthy web for everyday users - not to mention most browsers have announced that future updates [will be blocking ads by default](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/content-blocking). *News outlets need to adapt or die*.
+
+## What's the solution?
+
+I don't have a *fix all* band-aid to replace current revenue streams for news websites. I'm sure someone much smarter than I can come up with better ideas, but just off the top of my head:
+
+- Switch over to a monthly subscription plan (if no one pays for it maybe you weren't as useful of a source as you thought)
+- Partner with brands to create sponsored articles (without ruining the user experience of course)
+- Place a larger emphasis on user donations or promotions
+
+## The News Shouldn't be Spam
+
+Most traffic flowing into news websites are there for one thing: *the content*. News outlets should not be spamming their main revenue supply (**the users**) or misleading people with false information.
+
+If you're a regular consumer of news and you happen to run across a platform that is guilty of any of these practices, shoot them an email explaining why you won't be returning to their website (unless they change their ways). These anti-consumer practices will only stop when these organizations start losing money.