Democratically Funded Media Helps Small Business

The illusion that limiting the opportunity to advertise would harm small business

Often when the idea of creating an ad-free media is introduced to a small business person they protest that they need advertising. Their experience shows them that when they advertise the result is that it brings them more business.

They do not consider that there is a huge ocean of advertising messages bombarding their potential customers all the time. People are continually being drawn in by the marketing pitches they are forced to face as a condition of accessing information and entertainment. This draws potential customers away.

In an ad-free environment, because customers will not be drawn away by other businesses advertisements, they will naturally come to a small business through referral and research.

An ad-free environment levels the playing field giving smaller businesses fair access to customers.

Media advertising is a game where market share is won at the expense of others losing market share (a zero sum game). Also it is a game where the larger players win. These two facts explain why media advertising works against smaller businesses.
Limiting the opportunity to advertise should bring a net gain in business for smaller businesses.