Comments on: No, metered-content walls won’t save journalism

By: JeffB

JeffB — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 04:33:50 +0000

The problem is we are not seeing the newspaper industry respond to the situation correctly yet. They are still seeing their business as print products or digital products rather than a whole spectrum of information. They are responding to what has happened and not looking ahead at what will be. If they were, they’d be setting up relevant channels of delivery and developing potential new channels that no one ever thought of. Basically … there’s no R&D taking place in most media companies. Rather they are still playing “Whack A Mole” on the hull of a rotten ship to keep it from sinking rather than building a new ship. So, you’re right. Pay walls aren’t the answer. R&D will be … but that’s not something media companies are good at.

By: Peter Tarr

Peter Tarr — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 17:30:35 +0000

It seems like one of the biggest concerns for online publications is the balancing act between retaining readers and earning revenue. Pushing readers too hard for an online subscription could mean a loss in traffic for those outlets that don’t have the same readership as an established outlet like the New York Times. But are the options for revenue generation as narrow as pay-per-click advertising, paywalls and digital subscriptions? For some publications, the answer may be as simple as affiliate marketing avenues, such as content locking where an advertiser sponsors something like a survey, quiz or game that the reader then interacts with to see the desired content. These are often overlooked, but can provide a non-intrusive method to keep advertisers and readers alike happy, while still generating a positive ROI.

- Peter Tarr, CEO, CPAlead

By: Patrick O'Brien

Patrick O'Brien — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:56:13 +0000

Also, it wasn’t just a mistake in the adoption of crappy business models early on by newspapers, it was tragically the lack of ANY innovation in our industry. The lack of innovation has been and will continue to be a large part of our continue slide into obscurity.

Our industry sucks at innovation. I challenge anybody to prove differently.

By: Patrick O'Brien

Patrick O'Brien — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:46:27 +0000

It’s important to consider the perspective here, your story is making a huge assumption and that is that publishers expect and are hoping to use paywalls as a means to recoup all the losses from advertising.

I don’t know one publisher who thinks a paywall will generate even a fraction of what classifieds and display use to for print. They are hoping some sort of paywall (done well) will generate enough revenue that with multiple other streams will help to keep their newspapers operating. Paywalls are only one niche to an ever expanding niche of small revenue streams.

Of course the newspaper business is hurting, badly. I’ve said it before in these comments Mathew, the way you’re writing these posts appears again to be simply beating a dead horse. Put the right perspective and ACTUALLY ASK publishers what they expect out of paywalls, THEN do the “reporting” if you will.

It’s also quite well known that newspapers aren’t now, nor have they even been strictly about “journalism.” Newspapers are a business, they don’t exists merely to hire reporters and write “quality” journalism. Who thinks this crazy notion? It’s utterly absurd. For generations newspapers have published Ann Landers, horoscopes, classifieds and sports scores. Which of those things is “quality journalism?”

Building page views can also be seen as a way to increase total audience. Some folks just want to look at photo galleries from Friday night football or girls volleyball, they don’t want to read about city hall or spend 10 minutes reading an investigative piece that took weeks to put together. What is wrong with that? Nothing, we’re humans.

There sure are some weird notions out there in the “journalism” industry, it’s no wonder so many newsrooms are out of touch with their readers.

By: cdiltz2525

cdiltz2525 — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 23:30:53 +0000

What are print subscriptions if not paywalls? Or buying a paper on a newsstand for that matter. So I don’t understand the argument about “restricting reach.”

By: cdiltz2525

cdiltz2525 — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 23:28:04 +0000

Paywalls are nothing new. What’s a print subscription if not a paywall? So I don’t get the argument about “restricting the reach” of journalism.

By: Mathew Ingram

Mathew Ingram — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 18:34:20 +0000

That’s a great point, William — thanks for the comment.

By: William P. Davis

William P. Davis — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 18:27:42 +0000

Donald,
The two papers you’re comparing are very different beasts. One is a general-interest publication and one is focused at a particular audience. Trade publications have, for a long time, cost considerably more than regular papers, and I’d argue the FT falls under that category. The reason is that many of their subscribers — I might even argue a majority — are billing the cost to their company. It’s very much the same reason properties like GigaOm Pro can survive — they’re targeting businesses, not individuals.

By: Greg Golebiewski

Greg Golebiewski — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 11:17:58 +0000

@apmfp. Well, this is exacetly what Znak it! does, and more… For example, with Znak it!, users can opt to pay using their e-wallet or “earn” free access to paid content by interacting with targeted ads. The latter doesn’t even require any register — just one click-and-a glance at a sponsoring ad, and you are “free” to read or download any otherwise paid content, anonymously. This optoin can be used in social networks, with Twitter, etc.

Anyone can try it here: http://bit.ly/PzXGej The link is to the whitepaper I mentioned above, only now the document is behind a paywall, which you can bypass with two mouse-clicks using Znak it!

By: Gypsy Boots

Gypsy Boots — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:26:06 +0000

A few global newspapers and magazine brands will prevail and perhaps even make a profit, and with greatly expanded readership will replace the dozens of others that used to fill the space.