I subscribe to the New York Times on the Kindle, but I sometimes read a little something in the Washington Post.
Today in Slate:
http://www.slate.com/id/2219260/
I read the newspapers had a secret meeting to discuss charging for web content. (Good for them. Know that story about free milk and a cow?)
So I wandered over to the Washington Post today to read a little article and only the first page was available without registration.
Has some sort of general change begun on newspaper sites?
Some sites have been like that for years. You only get the first bit without being registered.
I suspect I am being extra-attentive due to this “secret meeting.”
The Washington Post has been like that for a long time.
Seconded, it’s been like that for years.
Methinks the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department would be interested in getting more information about that meeting. :eek:
Did you even bother to RTFA?
No, obviously not. Bad poster… :smack:
Most of them require you to register to read, which is not an issue, you go to hotmail, open an email account and put phoney information in. Problem solved.
Would they charge for content? Possibly but unlikely because you can go elsewhere. Papers make their money by selling ads. Yeah they sell papers, obviously but they get the huge hunk of revenue through ads.
In the real world, if I live in Cape Girardeau, Missouri it may be difficult to find another paper if I don’t buy the local one. After all I’m at the mercy of the stores who decide IF to carry another paper.
But online I’m just a click away from finding a paper (with the same Associated Press feed and same stories) that isn’t going to charge me.
Add to that radio, TV, podcasts, blogs.
It makes no sense to DRIVE people away. When my bread and butter is ads, I want MORE people reading not less. I don’t want to say “Look our hits to our website went down. Buy an ad with us.”
Contrary to what our ISP would have you believe bandwidth is going down in cost, way donw, not up. It’s not hurting people to look.
The Internet has shown people who will buy, usually feel guilty so they will “donate” to a site they use. People who won’t buy, won’t buy it.
But to stop people would be like a store saying “Don’t look at our product in our store windows unless you can prove you have enough money to buy something.”
I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. Sure, lots of people have poor business models, but it’s unlikely and if you’re worried, don’t be few papers anymore have exclusive content.