Recently, Next Media founder Jimmy Lai came to Taiwan and took part in a fascinating discussion with media mogul Jan Hung-chi. Lai described himself as a businessman, and stressed that his Next Magazine and Apple Daily were completely "customer-driven"--they welcomed readers' scoops, responded to readers' feedback, and even devoted a page to readers' opinions. Apple, it would seem, exists only for its readers.

In its three years of operation in Taiwan, Apple Daily has built its sales to nearly half a million copies and become Taiwan's widest-circulating, highest-priced newspaper. That's right, the highest-priced--it sells for NT$15 a copy, while the China Times, United Daily News, and Liberty Times each go for NT$10. This is a sign that Apple has a largely well-off readership, the favorite target market for advertisers. The paper is also the first choice among the younger generation, or at least those who still read newspapers. Young people are impulsive consumers who are still molding their lifetime spending habits, meaning they are also advertisers' favorites.

Recently, with "citizen journalism" becoming a hot topic, I looked into its history. It turns out the idea was first propagated in 1988 by James K. Batten, head of Knight-Ridder, then America's second-largest newspaper publisher. Batten felt that both America's democracy and its media were in a state of crisis. Readership and voter participation were both on the decline, so--like Lai--he advocated a "customer-driven" editorial strategy.

However, to Batten, "customers" weren't simply people who'd buy his papers or the products advertised in them, but rather readers who recognized good content. These readers would respond to the care put into the reporting and let it speak for them. The paper would become an avenue for communication, creating understanding and promoting a more democratic society.

Though this sort of "customer-driven" plan sounds far from the mainstream today, Knight-Ridder put it into practice by beginning a series of reports on community issues in local papers around the country. Without fearing that people would find the subjects too dry, the publishers invited citizens to speak their minds on them at meetings so as to renew their passions in public debate. They even formed local committees on topics like elections, education, and the environment, and encouraged them to direct related news coverage or even write reports themselves.

Knight-Ridder's civic-oriented experiments showed results, starting a citizen journalism movement that lasted a decade. Unfortunately, to many potential readers who were already busy in their own everyday grinds, and who by the end of the workday were looking for light entertainment, all this hard work seemed too serious. Knight-Ridder was recently bought up by America's eighth-largest publishing group.

Fortunately, the citizen journalism torch has been passed on in other forms, such as South Korea's OhmyNews, founded in 2000, and the BBC's Action Network (with its website, iCan), launched in 2003. These allow anyone to take on the role of journalist and use a media platform to express ideas on public issues. OhmyNews is already turning a profit.

What about us, then? Are we willing to be treated as "customers," percentage points in ratings statistics that spend money and are packaged up and sold to advertisers by the media? Or will we take back the power, becoming informed consumers who demand that the media provide a quality product--even if it is less "spicy"?

Don't say it's a problem with the system, and don't say the tastes of readers and audiences can't be changed. The current state of affairs is not predestined. In that discussion, Jan said something very interesting--"You can't be a god and at the same time expect to eat the sacrificial food left out at the temple." He meant that in running a media organization, one can't try to be respected for lofty ideals and expect to do well financially too. But sacrifices are intended for the gods, after all--if there are no "gods" in a society to accept them, then any lesser mortal coming in off the street might. That would be unfortunate, indeed.