WaPo Ombudsman: Have to be better than Times on politics to charge for stories

YankeeFan · Dec 16, 2012

The biggest problem facing all papers not named the New York Times: how do you compete?

So what would a paywall mean to Post readers?

Under any paywall envisioned, subscribers to the printed Post in the Washington area would continue to get their online content free, say Post company officials. Indeed, a paywall may slow the decline in print subscribers, as it did with the New York Times. If you get The Post free online with your print subscription, there would be less reason to drop the paper edition. But that would require The Post to keep up a steady and high-quality diet of local news from the suburban counties that are home to so many subscribers.

A paywall could turn away casual readers of The Post from around the country, and even internationally, but a core of people who need to keep up on U.S. political and governmental news may find it worth the price.

That, however, means that The Post’s journalism has to maintain its high quality. The New York Times is a formidable competitor. The Post has to be as good as the Times, and probably better in the key areas of politics and government, if it is to command a fee for online stories.

That’s hard to do in a steadily shrinking newsroom that has to hire more Web producers and information-technology workers to keep up an attractive and functional Web site, yet keep enough boots-on-the ground reporters to write the copy to fill the site and the paper.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/patrick-pexton-a-paywall-for-the-post/2012/12/14/238583c8-4582-11e2-8e70-e1993528222d_story.html
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wicked · Dec 16, 2012

I've read that with the NYT paywall, it's been found that most casual readers haven't been scared off.

I reckon the same happens with the Post.

The big boys can afford a minimal hit in traffic for the subscription revenue.

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WaPo Ombudsman: Have to be better than Times on politics to charge for stories

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WaPo Ombudsman: Have to be better than Times on politics to charge for stories

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