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Gannett going to paywall

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by dixiehack, Feb 22, 2012.

  1. mb

    mb Active Member

    Around here, for big-boy college coverage.
     
  2. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Because pumping up the online views through free content has worked so well to this point.
    At least they're trying something besides slashing staff, for once.
     
  3. lantaur

    lantaur Well-Known Member

    Myopic
     
  4. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    You could say that about any of the numerous failed initiatives from Gannett over the past few years. Guess what? Staff was still cut in the end.
     
  5. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Oh, I'm sure they'll try it again. Our local major Gannett metro is about to lay off two if its most popular sports columnists through its "take a buyout or you get no severance when you're laid off in a few months" offer.
    I'm just willing to give them a smidge of credit for finally doing something that should've been done five years ago. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't but either way it's long overdue.

    The key here is strength in numbers. When one paper goes behind a paywall, people will go to the competition's free site. If 100 papers go behind the wall, some of them in overlapping markets, it's harder to do that.
    More importantly, it's a step toward changing the culture of our readership. Readers bristle at the idea of a paywall because they don't think they should have to pay for it. This (hopefully) puts the idea in their head that the newspaper is actually worth something, and in a few years actually paying for the paper/website becomes the norm.
     
  6. BillyT

    BillyT Active Member

    I won't pay for New London.

    You think I am gonna pay for Norwich?

    Kiss my sweet white . . . .
     
  7. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    One thing I think they should definitely do, is have a sort of "season pass" subscription, or a couple of different levels.
    You'd be able to get a subscription to your local Gannett paper at level one.
    At level two, you get that paper and all the others in your state or region (for a slightly higher, but reasonable price, like $5 more per month).
    At level three, you get the whole chain (also for a slightly higher price, like $10 more per month).
     
  8. Jake_Taylor

    Jake_Taylor Well-Known Member

    Media General papers have gone to, or are in the process of, going to a similar pay wall. One I'm familiar with has been charging the past couple of months and page views have held steady. Last month was roughly the same.

    This month the numbers are way up thanks to an event that's sparked a lot of interest in the local news and an effort to produce more and better content online.
     
  9. KJIM

    KJIM Well-Known Member

    It's a valid point. I don't even live in the same country as my parents. I can't argue I'm in the same household.
     
  10. flexmaster33

    flexmaster33 Well-Known Member

    Hurray...a big chain going this way only supports what the NY Times and a few others have already done. This should be the new internet model. Either it works and breathes some life into papers, or it doesn't and the masses are satisfied getting their news from Facebook updates.

    Our local chain is going to a similar model (supposed to be happening soon).
     
  11. podunk press

    podunk press Active Member

    When the big-city daily went to a pay wall, I stopped reading.

    I realized I didn't miss it.

    I brought this up when we went to a pay wall. The response, in essence, was we had nothing to lose by at least trying it.
     
  12. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    You think big-city daily was worried about you no longer reading the content you weren't paying them for anyway?

    If there's nothing that's going to make you consider my product worth paying for, then I'm not going to consider your views as I craft my product. There is, in fact, nothing to lose by cutting off access to nonpaying readers, and all the platitudes about the changing nature of news don't make that any less true.
     
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