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Charging for Web site?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Not too late, Feb 8, 2009.

  1. Pete Incaviglia

    Pete Incaviglia Active Member

    Perhaps. But this is how it works:
    Paper is subscribed to.
    Paper is printed.
    Paper is delivered.
    Circulation numbers are calculated based on this.
    Ad rates are based on circulation.

    THEN

    Paper is free online
    Fewer papers are subscribed to.
    Fewer papers are delivered.
    Circulation numbers drop.
    Ad rates drop.
    Advertisers go away because circulation is down because everything is free online.
     
  2. Voodoo Chile

    Voodoo Chile Member

    That assumes that the paper being online is the reason for the drop in circulation, and that's a conclusion I disagree with.
     
  3. Pete Incaviglia

    Pete Incaviglia Active Member

    It's not the only reason. But it's a big reason.
     
  4. Frank_Ridgeway

    Frank_Ridgeway Well-Known Member

    That is not really true, except on a major metro. Most papers make a profit on the cover price. According to the Inland Press Association, the profit percentage on circulation:

    10,000 Circulation 25,000 Circulation 50,000 Circulation 100,000 Circulation

    31.8% 34.9% 37.1% 39.3%

    http://www.inlandpress.org/articles/2008/09/09/research/rules_of_thumb/doc48c57a29b6d08078370615.txt
     
  5. rpmmutant

    rpmmutant Member

    Oh please! There was a time when Dickens and Austen were considered entertainment, Shelley and Keats were considered uncultured. Now they all are classic authors. Harry Potter is as much a dialogue about the inequalties of classes as it is about witches and wizards. In time it will be viewed as a commentary on society in the 21st century. Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Finn were written as children's books, and now they are viewed as slices of Americana from the 19th centruy. Time changes the perspective and purpose of literature. Sorry to threadjack. Back to the topic. People read, they just don't want to pay for what they read, especially newspapers, and that's the problem that needs to be fixed.
     
  6. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    The point being missed in the discussion of dwindling circulation is the Internet makes it possible to deliver your paper's freshest content anywhere in the world.

    Therefore the folks who used to live in Buffalo can still read their old hometown paper, even though they now live in San Diego or Switzerland or wherever.

    Out-of-market readers more than make up for whatever's been lost within the market. Of course, the local supermarket chain doesn't care about a reader in Guam, so that set of eyes may not help ad revenue. That's why you need to shake a dollar or two directly from that reader.
     
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