tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350172062816359483.post4074182680559564565..comments2021-08-12T15:14:31.199-05:00Comments on Seeking joy in change: Pay wall avalanche gains steamTed Schnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06338975463102889798noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350172062816359483.post-44278112409805851412012-03-04T15:16:03.400-06:002012-03-04T15:16:03.400-06:00A few points
1. Newspaper audiences are small and...A few points<br />1. Newspaper audiences are small and have been for 50 years. Market penetration of most papers was rarely above 20%. 30 years ago, most people got free news- Radio, TV and Independents. So let's put that concern to bed, and acknowledge that newspapers have always served a rather small minority of the populace. Paywalls won't change a damn thing in this regard. Newspapers have nothing to lose.<br />2. Paywalls can grow print circulation. Ask the Arkanas Democrat Gazette, the Wall Street Journal or the NYT which just logged its first print circulation increase in 5 years. Coincidence?<br />3. Most news is still created by newspapers. Most other news sites offer 'commentary', but no news collection. Go to Huffinton Post,Google News or Yahoo News. Every byline is by the AP, UPI or Reuters, just like they were forty years ago. Except for tech and gossip, there is no such thing as internet news. It is all commentary after the traditional media provides the actual facts. TV stations are a notable exception, as the only other news creator.Stephennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350172062816359483.post-38935873908517874072012-03-04T14:10:18.895-06:002012-03-04T14:10:18.895-06:00I wanted to add this comment from a friend of mine...I wanted to add this comment from a friend of mine who understands the technology better than I do in regard to metrics and such:<br /><br />"I would disagree that website metrics give an idea of how many people actually look at an ad - it's how many times the ad loads on the page, and many internet readers (including myself) view web pages while paying little or no attention to the ads. Clickthroughs are probably a better indication of how much attention an ad is getting, and usually those numbers are pretty low."<br /><br />That said, (this is Ted's view again) in my opinion advertisers still have a much better way to gauge the potential traffic their ads have than they had in print, although it's not as precise as I had believed.Ted Schnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06338975463102889798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350172062816359483.post-78938274836386579532012-03-04T14:04:24.054-06:002012-03-04T14:04:24.054-06:00Newspapers are in a dilemma they fashioned for the...Newspapers are in a dilemma they fashioned for themselves by failing to take the Internet seriously (or failing to understand that it does not operate like a printed paper) back in the 1990s, and they were already losing readers.<br /><br />I do not believe pay walls will push people back to the printed product — the younger generation is much more wired than ever before. I personally do not believe the printed product will be around much longer — it is no longer a sustainable product financially or environmentally.<br /><br />We'll have to wait to see if pay walls are able to achieve any longevity. I suspect they may be a part of the new business model, but I have strong doubts, particularly after reading media accounts of what John Paton is doing with his companies.Ted Schnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06338975463102889798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350172062816359483.post-87809732821443363392012-03-04T11:13:54.020-06:002012-03-04T11:13:54.020-06:00it will be interesting to see how it all works. th...it will be interesting to see how it all works. the great obvious trend of internet traffic is that it gravitates to free things. the overwhelming majority of users have never ever clicked on an ad. people like free things, especially in an economy that has pushed so many into a lower standard of living. i will also be deliberative in the number of stories i read in the la times to preserve my free views.Ed Pilollahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09139531369534586168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4350172062816359483.post-68084334221934254682012-03-04T10:57:52.499-06:002012-03-04T10:57:52.499-06:00I think a benefit for the newspaper of paywalls th...I think a benefit for the newspaper of paywalls that you don't mention is that they give the subscriber or potential subscriber to the print edition a reason to keep paying for the paper. Thousands of people have canceled their subscriptions because they can get it for free online. If that's no longer true, then maybe some will go back to the print subscription, and then the paper can recapture some of that lost print ad revenue. <br /><br />I have to admit though that while I think the paywall is something news companies have to do to survive, I'll personally do what I can to avoid paying for it. Now when I look at Sun-Times Media sites, I think before clicking on a story about if it's worth using up one of my 20 clicks for the month. I'm not going to pay for it because it's not that important to me. But if the Tribune starts charging I might have to pay for that, because I read multiple articles there every day.Chris Mageenoreply@blogger.com