Telegraph, 10 September
GOOGLE has admitted for the first time that it is developing technology that would assist newspapers in making money from website readers.
Public rejects Murdoch view of BBC, says ICM poll
Julian Glover, Guardian, 4 September 2009
TRUST IN BBC grows despite attacks by Murdoch and politicians. Viewers and listeners are rallying around the BBC, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. It shows rising levels of trust in the broadcaster and increased public support for the licence fee.
The BBC is not the problem - it's an inability to let go of the past
The Guardian, Emily Bell, Monday 31 August 2009
NEWS CORPORATION clearly thinks that charging for content is a high-risk strategy, which is why Rupert Murdoch announced it a year in advance; a short history of business moves by News Corp demonstrates that on sure ground the organisation strikes with cobra-like speed. In essence, unless all other organisations of a similar ilk follow suit, the idea is hopeless. In fact, many (and I'm among them) think it is hopeless with or without the BBC…
BBC should charge for website and other services, says chief of Channel 5
Telegraph, 31 August 2009
THE BBC SHOULD consider charging viewers for its website, the iPlayer and all services other than two television channels and "a couple of radio stations", Dawn Airey, the chief executive of Five, has suggested.
Murdoch Jr vs the man from Auntie: Sparks fly over BBC online
Independent, 30 August 2009
IN A PUBLIC DEBATE at the Edinburgh Television Festival, James Murdoch targeted the BBC's online operation, which he said is causing immense problems for the independent news business. And, in a clear signal that the Conservatives are increasingly in accord with the Murdoch world-view, the Opposition joined in the assault on the BBC website, raising objections to the millions the corporation is allowed to plough into its internet operation.
Murdoch attack on 'dominant' BBC
28 Aug 2009
NEWS CORPORATION'S James Murdoch has said that a "dominant" BBC threatens independent journalism in the UK. The chairman of the media giant in Europe, which owns the Times and Sun, also blamed the UK government for regulating the media "with relish". "The expansion of state-sponsored journalism is a threat to the plurality and independence of news provision," Mr Murdoch said. He was giving the MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival. (Should we laugh? - ed)
The Future Of News Is Scarcity
Nic Brisbourne, PaidContent.org, 27 Aug 2009
THE INTERESTING thing about the news industry is that, when we examine it from the ground up, we quickly realize that it lost touch with its customers a long time ago, and that the model for the future will most likely look very different to what we are used to. The great tragedy of the newspaper industry in the late 20th Century was that, in the pursuit of profit, quality journalism became a dying art. Budgets were reduced, journalists were asked to write more stories per day and were given less time to check facts. At the same time, editors were instructed to avoid stories that might create controversy and the expense of lawsuits. The result was more and more bland articles recycled from paper to paper, more politically motivated editing and the collapse of public trust in the newspaper industry.
Why The Associated Press plans to hold some web content off the wire
Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
Zachary M. Seward, Aug 2009
IN A BREAK with tradition, The Associated Press plans to prevent members and customers from publishing some AP content on their websites. Instead, those news organizations would link to the content on a central AP website — a move that could upend the consortium’s traditional notions of syndication.
Why Murdoch closed his London freesheet
The Guardian: Monday 24 August 2009, Ciar Byrne and Ben Dowell
HAVING DECLARED that free has no part in the future of news, Rupert Murdoch last week pulled the plug on his London freesheet … The real driving force behind the decision is Rupert Murdoch's new-found evangelism for paid-for content. This month he declared News Corp's mission is "to increase our revenue from all our content". A loss-making free paper does not fit into this vision … in closing the London Paper the Murdochs have underlined their belief that charging for news is the way forward. Douglas McCabe, a media analyst with Enders Media in London, says: "Murdoch is saying 'enough is enough'. He's saying newsrooms have value and by giving away free content you devalue them. It would be somewhat ambiguous to start charging for online news and still give away news in a free paper."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/24/thelondonpaper-rupert-murdoch-news-international
Chris Anderson on the Economics of 'Free'
Spiegel Online International
So now that you don't need this access to a commercial channel to distribute (news), anyone can do it. What we do is still useful but what other people do is equally useful. I don't think our way is the most important and it is certainly not the only way of conveying information. So this is why we're in a funny phase. It's going to take us a decade or two to figure out what it is we're doing.
Pay-to-read - cash cow, or red herring?
PDA: Guardian Digital Content Blog. Posted 10 Aug 09 by Robert Andrews, editor of Paid Content: UK
Newspapers that raise a paywall may find paying customers among some of their most loyal domestic fans - but they will shut out all the serendipitous readers, perhaps ending sites' global ambitions. The result would see BBC News, of course, attract more traffic. But a march to paid could also mean an opportunity for grassroots bloggers and redundant newspaper reporters, many of whom are promising to build alternative news sources worth their name.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/10/newspapers-paid-content-charging-paywalls
Paid content is all the rage with US publishers - but where's the proof that anyone will pay?
14 Aug 09 Greenslade Blog, Guardian Online
THE PUBLISHERS' enthusiasm for Journalism Online’s plan still leaves unanswered the BIG questions: will the public pay? Will a sufficient number of people subscribe to ensure a healthy income? Will advertisers take fright when the user numbers fall?
Indeed, are these traditionalist publishers merely trying to graft an old-fashioned print business model on to the net when they should be exploring new ways of carrying out journalism?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/aug/14/us-press-publishing-digital-media
More on Journalism Online's 'Letters of Intent'
13 Aug … Wall Street Journal
500 Online Journals May Charge for Content
14 Aug 09 Media Age
JOURNALISM ONLINE, a company founded in April by several media bigwigs, claims to have signed up more than 500 newspapers and magazines worldwide for its online payment scheme. They plan to provide publishers with various ways to charge for content including monthly subscriptions and pay-per-article. Co-founder, Steven Brill of American Lawyer magazine was quoted as saying, “By creating a platform of flexible hybrid models for paid content that maximizes online advertising revenue while creating a new revenue stream from readers, Journalism Online has helped shift the debate over charging for online news from if to when and how.”
News Corporation to Begin Charging Readers of Online Papers
The Guardian 6 Aug 09
RUPERT MURDOCH'S decision to charge for access to online news is just the latest salvo in an increasingly fierce debate about the future of newspapers on the web. The perilous finances of many news organisations – caused in part by declining circulations and the economic crisis, but also thanks to the lower profits available from online advertising – have led many to consider ending the free handout of news on the web.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/06/rupert-murdoch-online-news-charging
ITunes Inspires 'Pay per Article' System
Independent 7 Aug 09
THE FINANCIAL TIMES is in talks to introduce a "pay-per-article" system inspired by the Apple iTunes model, which could change the culture of reading news on the internet. Senior sources at the FT have confirmed that the group is in discussions with a number of payment processor companies to establish a simple "one -lick" procedure that would enable consumers to pay a small fee for single articles that would otherwise be available only to subscribers.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/no-fee-no-ft-newspaper-joins-rush-to-charge-for-the-internet-1768509.html
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