Pay to read?

I have mentioned this on previous occasions, and it continues to be a huge problem for the newspaper industry.  In short: how much longer can they give away their content?
It’s a tough question considering that there almost certainly will always be one or more major, credible news sources which will provide news at no charge, thereby making it virtually impossible for others to adopt a full pay-to-read business model.  And, the spectre of anti-trust looms should Big Newspapers decide to "cooperatively respond" to their declining readership (revenue) problem.
Personally, I would be loathe to pay for news — mostly because there’s too much free information on the Web.  I just don’t see Web news consumers suddenly opening their wallets.
This article in The New York Times covers all the bases.  And, here’s the irony — you have to register to read it.

Newspaper Web sites have been so popular that at some newspapers, including The New York Times, the number of people who read the paper online now surpasses the number who buy the print edition.

This migration of readers is beginning to transform the newspaper industry. Advertising revenue from online sites is booming and, while it accounts for only 2 percent or 3 percent of most newspapers’ overall revenues, it is the fastest-growing source of revenue. And newspaper executives are watching anxiously as the number of online readers grows while the number of print readers declines.

Take that, Kingo

This is very cool. Talk about grassroots journalism! Nepalese bloggers, journalists defy media clampdown by king.

In the Internet Age, powerful rulers have little chance to operate in a media blackout. They can shut the newspapers, the TV stations and even block Web sites and telephone lines. But eventually, news leaks out, an e-mail here, a Web site there and eventually a Weblog fighting for the cause of the repressed.

Journalism 101

Interesting development in view of the enormous attention being paid to whether or not bloggers are really reporters. If you have any doubt about your status, here’s some online help.

Citizen journalism gets a new player

TV over the Net – that’s right, as this brief article puts it: Anyone with a camera, an idea and a computer will be able to put his own programming in front of consumers.. Wow.

White House briefing + blogger = history

In what is believed to be a journalistic first, the White House yesterday issued a press credential to a Washington D.C.-based blogger. Garrett Graff, writer of Fishbowl D.C., a Web log about the news media in Washington, attended two briefings conducted by Scott McClellend, the White House press secretary.
This of course is quite significant, if for no other reason than the breaking down of a journalistic barrier. I’ve chronicled here many times how Big Journalism is struggling with what to make of bloggers, especially those who see themselves as free-agent journalists. Essentially, are they or are they not reporters to whom legal protections and media access ought be extended?
Apparently McClellan employs a broad interpretation, saying “The briefing room ought to be an inclusive place”.
The blogosphere has gone mainstream.

Lizard-Brain TV

I couldn’t resist repeating the headline from this article about television news.  With apologies to the Los Angeles Times and Martin Kaplan, I encourage anyone interested in local TV news to read what the associate dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication has to offer about America’s media tastes.  Excerpt:

There are station managers and news directors who have broken from the pack and who deserve the awards and ratings they get for figuring out how to make important information entertaining. But on the evidence of what they air, many local television executives apparently think that audiences are content with what they get and that naive public interest advocates simply don’t understand that local news is really a cash cow for a large, often very large, corporation.

Podcasting faces growing pains

While podcasting has been white-hot of late — the flavor of the month for high-tech media writers – this column from the Boston Globe serves up some sobering reality.  Sure, podcasting is innovative and probably isn’t going to go away.  But, it has some serious maturing to do.  And, inevitably the debate has started over whether or not podcasting should embrace a profitable economic model including ads and/or subscriptions.

Personally, I think there’s a place for both.  Those who produce top-quality programming will gain sponsorship.  After all, the marketplace is at work here.  But so-called "amateur hour" podcasts likely will continue to thrive, thanks to the liberating result of empowering grassroots radio via the Web. 

I suspect that terrestrial radio has its collective head in the sand right now.  Between podcasting and satellite radio, Big Radio executives have their hands full, and many are choosing to ignore it, hoping that it will go away.  Sorry.  Once again, the Web is proving to be enormously valuable in leveling the media playing field.  Excerpt:

Podcasting is in the same place today as the Web was in 1994. These personal radio broadcasts, designed to be downloaded to an iPod or similar MP3 player, are homespun, rough-edged, and — let’s be honest — not all that riveting.