More paywalls?

[SoCalDude]

We've been behind a metered wall here in Tulsa for over a year now, and things have surprised many of us. Most people don't hit the wall (it's something like 10 or 15 stories, I think), and those who do have been pretty willing to pay. It's been pretty successful overall really, esp. when people realized they didn't have to pay for the print and digital products separately; all print subscribers get access to all our digital products (except for Kindle, I think, which is because of Amazon).

I had been going to your site daily for about a year and a half because the Drillers manager is a friend of mine. I try to keep track of how he's doing and what he's saying.
But when I reached the 10 free views a month limit and got blocked, I stopped. I can still keep track of how he's doing on the team site, but I miss out on what he's saying.

 

[BillyT]

Most seem to let you have 10-15 clicks in a month before they hit you up for money.

Strib, for example, is 20. Delete my cookies, refresh the page and continue...

Be careful with proclaiming that, there are others who will call you a thief because you had the audacity to clear a cookie on your own device.

That's cheating!

(Happy, Stitch?) ;)

 

[flexmaster33]

If you move away and still want access to keep in touch with what's going on in that town, why shouldn't you be expected to subscribe to gain that access?

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Or to TV sites which hire away newspaper reporters </crossthread>

Most TV sites will have to go to a paywall also. I know the TV station in our market said that once we go to a paywall (err, subscription model), they will follow.

I know a lot of people are ****ting on papers for doing this (and I was one of them ****ting on papers), but I think it may work.

I know plenty of people who pay for content on the internet (rivals.com, silly upgrades for silly games, etc.). I think initially it will be rejected, but eventually people will realize if they want to read about their local news from a "trusted" source, they'll have to pony up the $10 or so to get the information.

Of course, the key will be providing that content so they feel like they're getting their money's worth. Having a day-old story as your lead won't cut it.

I can tell you my TV station has absolutely no plan to go to a pay wall and the managers were borderline giddy to hear the local paper will be going to one.

 

[MonsterLobster]

Most seem to let you have 10-15 clicks in a month before they hit you up for money.

Strib, for example, is 20. Delete my cookies, refresh the page and continue...

Be careful with proclaiming that, there are others who will call you a thief because you had the audacity to clear a cookie on your own device.

You wouldn't clear cookies if it meant you could download a car, would you?

 

[Turtle Wexler]

Gannett shop I just joined has had impressive online subscription success so far, but the print product is also growing quite rapidly under the new leadership, which translates directly. I've been against pay walls in the past, but it seems to be working here. The 15 stories design while logging IP addresses is also a good way to get readers coming from out of the coverage area without slapping them for a charge they'd never want to pay, while showing locals examples of a quality product worth subscribing to.

And where is this, assuming you're already using your real name and not outing yourself?

That's my name. Fort Collins. 25K circulation, up about 3K from two years ago. Granted, I'm still on an emotional high from starting a new gig and might be a little biased, but it's one of the few papers I've seen that has a morale in the newsroom which is extremely high. Interviewed at a couple of large metro dailies this spring and the people were nice, but it just seemed so, well, "quiet," I suppose you could say. Sports staff here has just jumped from three (plus SE) to five. A few of my college colleagues also just joined the staff and I think all of us took a decent circulation cut to be a part of this project (for lack of a better term), making this paper something great again and, so far, the numbers are promising.

I would venture this has less to do with your paper being great and more to do with the fact Singleton now owns (and is decimating) not just the state's major metro but a bunch of the formerly independent smaller papers. Gannett sucks, but Singleton sucks harder, and readers in Colorado are reacting to that.

 

[Stitch]

Didn't the former SE in Fort Colluns just get canned? What a great place to work. Things must be looking up when more staffers making less money jump aboard.