Comments on: What if newspapers charged for ad-free sites?

By: all over print

all over print — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:47:15 +0000

This is a disaster at its best. People will just switch for a free service. There's plenty around.

By: MISS RAJINI RAO TUPPALWAR

MISS RAJINI RAO TUPPALWAR — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:23:11 +0000

here in subedari ,hanamkonda,warangal, andhra pradesh, india sold the plot in 1989 frm age 15 yrs to till date of mine by agricultural officer mallaiah-sujata's husband,venkatayya-cpm party, paparao -govt. school teacher, indian overseas bank mgr, indian bank mgr, sold the plot for us as being purchased to them as a part of their sex life for upto 100 yrs. in place of dowry of rs.10 lakhs to 2 crores to be given to us, playing sarvasm hand over or evil spirit games and hence i requested the population to payabove as be to them and i love bbc asitsavesmeeverydayfrmrapeandmurder. They are telling as pennis or pichchalu and their bodies as their house and plot and land in the name of vaastu or engg. ofland and plot or bldg. they asking to pray them as gods as their spirits and nabbing flesh of us as if wanting for matrimony who are of now aged for their granddaughters and grand sons age.pl. help me in getting out of this.

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By: Information wants to be free… eller? « Guy Number Three

Information wants to be free… eller? « Guy Number Three — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:31:07 +0000

[...] Kom att tänka på detta i samband med att betaldebatten åter tog fart, när mediemogulen Rupert Murdoch nyligen offentliggjorde planer på att ta betalt för innehållet på Newscorp-sajter. [...]

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By: Recommended Links for August 13th | Alex Gamela - Digital Media & Journalism

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:07:29 +0000

[...] What if newspapers charged for ad-free sites? [...]

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By: bloggingmom67

bloggingmom67 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:13:04 +0000

@Jackie Hai - Yes .. the answer is in the long tail, and I love your list of possible revenue-producers. Just finished Chris Anderson's smart book, "Long Tail." I think it should be required reading for journalists and newspaper managers today. What worries me most about the newspaper business today is that some seem to be waiting for this new business model to fall out of the sky and konk them on the head. Not going to happen. Thanks for adding your ideas. -- Gina

Reply - @Jackie Hai<\/a> - \r\n\r\nYes .. the answer is in the long tail, and I love your list of possible revenue-producers.\r\n\r\nJust finished Chris Anderson\'s smart book, \"Long Tail.\" I think it should be required reading for journalists and newspaper managers today.\r\n\r\nWhat worries me most about the newspaper business today is that some seem to be waiting for this new business model to fall out of the sky and konk them on the head. Not going to happen.\r\n\r\nThanks for adding your ideas.\r\n\r\n-- Gina'); return false;">Quote

By: Jackie Hai

Jackie Hai — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:03:03 +0000

I'm in full agreement with this: "There is no one business model that will solve the newspaper problem the way advertising did in the old days." If anything, I think the news websites that do become profitable will be the ones that embrace the "long tail" approach to generating revenue. Just off the top of my head, I can think of over a half dozen things news organizations could be offering today: 1. Advertising 2. Ad-free subscriptions 3. Print-on-demand subscriptions 4. "Better" classifieds (see http://bit.ly/B2hGF) 5. Selling photo prints 6. Selling high-def video and audio downloads 7. Licensing content for reusing/remixing 8. News apps for smartphones (see http://bit.ly/3CXaGa) Granted, some of these require an initial investment of time and resources to set up, but the technical infrastructure for most of the things of this list already exists. No single stream will account for even a slight majority of the revenue, and readers won't necessarily go for all of the options, but the point is that the options exist. The long tail works online because it costs virtually nothing to keep an option open, under the assumption that someone, somewhere will want to buy into it. Anyway, all of that was a roundabout way of saying that I think your idea about ad-free sites has merit. News organizations need to start trying different things and experimenting with more models than the dead-horse paywall argument.

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By: bloggingmom67

bloggingmom67 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:14:56 +0000

@Daniel Filan - You may be right, but I would submit that having an add-on the blocks ads on one browser isn't exactly add-free. I do agree with you, though, that the pay model won't work. As you point out in your post, there will still be free news even if some sites charge. -- Gina

Reply - @Daniel Filan<\/a> - \r\n\r\nYou may be right, but I would submit that having an add-on the blocks ads on one browser isn\'t exactly add-free.\r\n\r\nI do agree with you, though, that the pay model won\'t work. As you point out in your post, there will still be free news even if some sites charge.\r\n\r\n-- Gina'); return false;">Quote

By: Daniel Filan

Daniel Filan — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:01:10 +0000

On Firefox, you can already get an add-on that blocks out ads, so I don't think paying for no ads would work. I honestly think that this won't work - free news is still available, and as I point out in my blog http://bit.ly/11JVa1 consumers won't tell the difference.

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By: bloggingmom67

bloggingmom67 — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:54:09 +0000

@Katherine Warman Kern - Good points. The game really has changed this week. What we thought as axiomatic just isn't anymore. It's a good time to revist everything we thought to be true. -- Gina

Reply - @Katherine Warman Kern<\/a> - \r\n\r\n\r\nGood points. The game really has changed this week. What we thought as axiomatic just isn\'t anymore.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a good time to revist everything we thought to be true.\r\n\r\n-- Gina'); return false;">Quote

By: Katherine Warman Kern

Katherine Warman Kern — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:28:49 +0000

@Josh - Josh, your analysis assumes "what is:" namely, the internet as another distribution channel for print content, as is. The announcement of AP's content-licensing system and Murdoch's shift to paid are signals of a game-changing moment. Until now, no one but member papers could license AP content. Now bloggers and major papers, alike, will be able to buy the same content. Namely, content will be raw material available for purchase by anyone. It will be the value added to the content that determines competitive advantage and revenues. Murdoch's shift to paid suggests he is ready to compete against major players and bloggers alike on features other than content. What are these features? They range from trust in the writers analyzing the content to opportunity to connect to like-minded individuals. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination or your censorship of imagination.

Reply - @Josh<\/a> - Josh, your analysis assumes \"what is:\" namely, the internet as another distribution channel for print content, as is. \r\n\r\nThe announcement of AP\'s content-licensing system and Murdoch\'s shift to paid are signals of a game-changing moment. Until now, no one but member papers could license AP content. Now bloggers and major papers, alike, will be able to buy the same content. Namely, content will be raw material available for purchase by anyone. It will be the value added to the content that determines competitive advantage and revenues. \r\n\r\nMurdoch\'s shift to paid suggests he is ready to compete against major players and bloggers alike on features other than content. What are these features? They range from trust in the writers analyzing the content to opportunity to connect to like-minded individuals. \r\n\r\nThe possibilities are limited only by your imagination or your censorship of imagination.'); return false;">Quote