Let's get the bad news out of the way early: a new Harris poll for Adweek Media found that newspaper readership is down to 43 percent who read newspapers (either in print or online) each day, and it's half that for the 18-34-year-old demographic. One in 10 Americans say they never read a daily newspaper.
The news is equally for newspapers thinking about charging for content with 77 percent saying they wouldn't pay for online.
On the other hand, 72 percent say they read at least once a week and 81 percent at least once a month.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Paywalls jump back into the news (not that they've ever gone)
Paying for media content is one of the major undercurrents of virtually all stories about media these days. There are two significant ones today.
The New York Times is reporting that Apple plans to pitch its new tablet device, which will be introduced officially tomorrow, as a way for publications to charge for content. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
Meanwhile, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger says paywalls like those proposed by Rupert Murdoch could lead the industry to a "sleepwalk into oblivion." He's talking about rigid paywalls, seeming supportive of charging for specialized content while keeping much of your news site free. That's a model that I believe has a good chance of working.
Rusbridger echoes a lot of what I tell students about prospects for journalism. "If you think about journalism, not business models, you can become rather excited about the future. If you only think about business models you can scare yourself into total paralysis," he said in a talk. Read the comments on the Guardian site. They add a lot of insight (at least some of them do).
The New York Times is reporting that Apple plans to pitch its new tablet device, which will be introduced officially tomorrow, as a way for publications to charge for content. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
Meanwhile, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger says paywalls like those proposed by Rupert Murdoch could lead the industry to a "sleepwalk into oblivion." He's talking about rigid paywalls, seeming supportive of charging for specialized content while keeping much of your news site free. That's a model that I believe has a good chance of working.
Rusbridger echoes a lot of what I tell students about prospects for journalism. "If you think about journalism, not business models, you can become rather excited about the future. If you only think about business models you can scare yourself into total paralysis," he said in a talk. Read the comments on the Guardian site. They add a lot of insight (at least some of them do).
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