Baltimore Sun to start paywall Oct. 10

Was Jamison Hensley one? I've always considered him the foremost Ravens writer.

 

Josh Charles says you should read Kevin Van Valkenburg, of the aforementioned Sun.

 

I do think newspapers need to try it and since there's no example of success yet, I don't know how you go about it. But does it seem like $100 a year is a bit steep for this? Especially when you're just getting it going?

There are just so many free options out there for similar content and you've been free for your entire online existence it seems like you should ease into it, like $5 a month or something like that.

 

For as much damage as they've done to newspapers, I think this is one thing Gannett could do that might help save them. If Gannett (or another large chain) were to offer some sort of "league pass" to some or all of its newspapers, then put up a company-wide paywall, I think it might be enough to change the mindset.
One paper does it, and people will just go somewhere else. If 100 papers do it at the same time, the options are far more limited.

 

good point, especially for the metro-dailies...the smaller-town dailies/weeklies can get away with pay walls more easily because their news isn't broadcast by multiple sources.

 

Yeah, that could be marketed with USA Today to get a more national base.

 

From everything I've read on pay walls, it's sort of worked for Podunk dailies.

 

Toby Keith knows where to get the whiskey for his men. But if the horse can't get back in the bar, he's got a dilemma. Maybe Willie Nelson can help him out with the beer for the horses.

 

I ain't as good as I once was.

(God, he does a lot of songs about drinking)

 

As I've posted many times before (with little substantive pushback), I can't think of any reason why it makes any sense to continuing distributing content in bundles based on how streets were designed a long time ago (i.e. old newspaper delivery routes). The cost of adding additional sources of information--once you're assured of their quality--is almost 0 on the web*. It made sense for a reader to pay for someone to bundle his world news, local news, arts news, sports news, TV listings, weather, etc. when print (and even TV/radio) was the main mode of information distribution. It doesn't really make much sense now. People still want information, no doubt--they just don't necessarily want it the bundle newspapers continue to deliver on the web. Why would a Ravens fan like "podunk press" pay to subsidize a bunch of other mediocre coverage at the Sun* when there are, apparently, excellent websites that cover the team and provide better coverage?

* Not an actual commentary on the Sun, because I don't read it. Based solely on podunk's comment.

 

And America and how you better love it or he'll kick your ass.