Another intersection of old and new media

     The intersections of new and old media continue to cause consternation. Case in point today, a Reuters blog concerning the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette whose circulation is rising, in his estimation, because he has erected a firewall between the print and online material, charging online-only viewers for access to his newspaper's content. Let me repeat that -- his circulation is increasing.  Frankly, I've long wondered why newspapers don't try to drive readers to the print version just as they work to drive readers to the online version. I well remember once when the Journal Sentinel had a columnist prominently displayed in its Friday Cue section whose column appeared as in blog form two other times a week.  I wondered why it didn't leave the Friday column offline, while advertising to those who really liked her work that there was another column/blog available only in print.  Why give everything away?

     My prediction: By a year from now, most newspapers will be charging for online access. And a lot of us will be paying, if it's reasonably priced.