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Advance Publications Beg-a-thon

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Readallover, Apr 8, 2020.

  1. Severian

    Severian Well-Known Member

    Same with The New Yorker.
     
  2. adcs2

    adcs2 Member

    Readallover likes this.
  3. Readallover

    Readallover Active Member

  4. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    Why are they ashamed of erecting a paywall? Any quality local news publication of record has done it.
     
  5. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I don't read it as being ashamed.

    I read it as them having had an advertising-driven model that was barely working in better times, and is working even more poorly during the pandemic. That means they need to find money somewhere else. Their problem is that they have been online for 24 years and never had a paywall, and now they are struggling with how to introduce the concept and do it in a way that has any chance of working.
     
    wicked and cake in the rain like this.
  6. cake in the rain

    cake in the rain Active Member

    I understand the cynicism, but this is actually the most sensible thing this company has done in years.

    It allows them to make the cheap, easy-to-write, SEO-stuffed-headlines free while spotlighting the stuff that might actually have required more effort to write and report. In theory, the subscribers who don't want to pay extra can still get the stuff that is going to be found anywhere else -- the game stories, signings, etc. -- while those who want analysis or features can pay more.

    Ideally, they capture some subscription bucks they weren't previously getting without seeing a massive drop-off in impression-based ad revenue (such as it is during the pandemic).

    Is it going to work perfectly in the execution? Probably not. But I think the idea is sensible.
     
  7. adcs2

    adcs2 Member

    Here is the timeline to the paywall ...

    June 17-23 Subscriber Exclusive appears on stories

    June 24-July 21 Will need to register in order to read Subscriber Exclusive stories

    July 22 - Will need to subscribe ($$$) to read exclusive content

    The claim, for now, is that much of the content will remain free. If and when they go to a true hard paywall in the future remains to be seen.
     
  8. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    PennLive has been using the "Subscriber Exclusive" for probably a half-year. The only thing they don't have it on is for COVID-19 stories.
     
  9. goalmouth

    goalmouth Well-Known Member

    There's a good reason NJ.com and other Advance content is free: It sucks harder than a black hole.
     
  10. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    The idea is sensible. They should've done it 20 years ago. I would've paid for that version of the Patriot-News.
     
    jr/shotglass likes this.
  11. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    Much appreciated. I haven't picked up the print copy in three years, since I saw what they did to my football tab.
     
  12. Readallover

    Readallover Active Member

    All the GannettNJ papers limit free content to less than 10 articles per month. So nj.com is the go-to source for state and regional news and wire stories. When nj.com erects the paywall, that ends for folks who are used to the free content. How many will subscribe is anyone's guess. I'd be curious to know if Advance will have to charge less for online ads because the number of website visitors will certainly drop once the paywall goes up.
     
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