Have you ever wondered if the newspaper will last? Well, this article seems to address that point with a resounding "NO, UNLESS."
The author drives the point that free news is killing newspapers. That is to say: the newspapers that are giving themselves away should expect to disappear unless the profit model changes - and soon. Interviewed because his paper is standing strong in the UK with near-zero online presence (some teasers), Hislop recounts the 90s when he made the decision to stand fast against the migration to the Net:
Is that true? Do you desire and value the things you get free? Do you value your online news sources? Or, if one disappeared, would you quickly find another to keep you informed? I think you probably value what you pay for. And, you usually pay for what you value.
To maintain a strong online presence with free news, you cannot offer the greatest quality (style, analysis, length). To maintain a strong offline presence, you have to offer the best quality.
Basic logic tells you one holds or increases value while the other has to decrease in value.
The author drives the point that free news is killing newspapers. That is to say: the newspapers that are giving themselves away should expect to disappear unless the profit model changes - and soon. Interviewed because his paper is standing strong in the UK with near-zero online presence (some teasers), Hislop recounts the 90s when he made the decision to stand fast against the migration to the Net:
At the time, the industry thought [I] was mad. The paper would vanish into irrelevance, people said. It would start by losing all its new readers, and would be stuck with old fogeys. “Every consultant was saying, ‘No young person is going to read you, they want everything for free.’”
Is that true? Do you desire and value the things you get free? Do you value your online news sources? Or, if one disappeared, would you quickly find another to keep you informed? I think you probably value what you pay for. And, you usually pay for what you value.
To maintain a strong online presence with free news, you cannot offer the greatest quality (style, analysis, length). To maintain a strong offline presence, you have to offer the best quality.
Basic logic tells you one holds or increases value while the other has to decrease in value.
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