With the financial crisis in the newspaper industry deepening, many will be taking comfort from Lionel Barber – the FT’s editor – who last week confidently declared that “almost all” newspaper will be charging consumers for their content in 2010. While business publishing can enjoy the safety of subscriptions and paid-for content, in the mainstream […]
With the financial crisis in the newspaper industry deepening, many will be taking comfort from Lionel Barber – the FT’s editor – who last week confidently declared that “almost all” newspaper will be charging consumers for their content in 2010. While business publishing can enjoy the safety of subscriptions and paid-for content, in the mainstream consumer markets this goes against the way online culture has developed. For 15 years there’s been strong debate and high hopes that subscriptions will deliver meaningful revenue, but consumers expectations are so high in terms of free content that the hopes of the FT seem deeply unfounded. Barber commented that “how these online payment models work and how much revenue they can generate is still up in the air. But I confidently predict that within the next 12 months, almost all news organisations will be charging for content.”
From Guardian.co.uk: http://www.guardian.co.uk, 16/07/2009
