Gary Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I see a lot of the big boys are now starting to charge for their online news. Murdoch (he must be feeling the pinch) is urging all publishers to start putting pay walls on their news sites! Johnstone press are charging ?5 a quarter to access all the full news on their sites. Would you be prepared to pay for online news? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Settle Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Me and obsy were only discussing this the other day, before he calling my views those of a simpleton, about the newspaper industry decline, I wrote The Internet is definitely a factor. Rupert Murdoch is considering putting the block on his online newspapers unless you pay and at least one regional newspaper is now charging ?5 for 3 months on-line readership. Murdoch blames the likes of Google. Andrew Neil commented tonight that getting views was easy but getting facts was expensive. He believes that if newspapers don't sort out the issue there will soon be no newspapers. Just imagine that people will have to rely on bloggs and forums for their information I think that if it guarantees a rounded well-based factually verified analysis then I would consider paying. The industry like many others is going through a transitionary period and like before it will come good as it transforms itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DS Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 There is no doubt that eventually ALL services of any value on the internet will have to be paid for. Why on earth should anyone provide news, information, or anything else for free? It is free at present to get people into the habit of using it. The Financial Times already charges for most of its site and has a significant number of paying customers, so if your content is good enough, and cannot be obtained elsewhere, many people will pay. I think there will be a minority, possibly a sizeable one, who WILL pay for news. This will mean that the majority of people will be even less well informed than they are at present. And that is saying something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LymmParent Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 The Beeb can't charge - we already pay for it. So if anyone wants to compete for market share, they can't charge either. Nor can the government allow a situation where they spend billions to give everyone internet access and then there's nothing to see unless you pay. There will have to be a news function online that is free to access. All news sites already charge their advertisers, so I don't see any need to charge again. And if push comes to shove, I can live without knowing who's been evicted from the jungle/X Factor house/Fame Academy/Katie Price's bed or which politician in particular has been caught doing drugs/his secretary/the dog/cheerleading practice...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeway56 Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 How many more billions does the Dirty Digger want ? He's a tax-dodging Aussie / Yank who won't be getting a brass farthing from yours truly.He's smacking his chops at the prospect of the Eton hooray henrys winning the next election with the possibility that the BBC will be degraded. You may call the BBC but be very careful about what you wish for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Settle Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I saw one of the above posters working hard with his pencil tonight in the Town Hall and we'll be able to read his report tomorrow for free. They don't make them like him anymore he's a real gem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I see a lot of the big boys are now starting to charge for their online news.Murdoch (he must be feeling the pinch) is urging all publishers to start putting pay walls on their news sites! Johnstone press are charging ?5 a quarter to access all the full news on their sites. Would you be prepared to pay for online news? No. Although it is often easier to read about the latest news on the internet if there was a charge for doing so I doubt that many would bother subscribing. J ust tune into one of the many TV channels either on the internet or simply by turning your TV on and all the headline news would be available anyway. The main headlines are also found on various ISP's home pages which you pay for anyway. And of course there are always the many radio stations to keep people upto date with the main national and local news stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 NO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 i very rarely look at online newspapers. i read warrington worldwide twice a day. usually first thing in the morning and then around six or seven at night to see if anything has been added during the day. occasionally visit the guardian site to see if they are carrying any stories from this site after that it is an odd visit to the reuters site to read this weeks odd news and the news on the virgin home page but as for any others i don't bother unless somebody has posted a link on here to a relevant article. on a side note. last Friday at about half past six Mrs Sid called me to say that the police were at the door and wanted a word when i got there there were about eight or nine officers knocking on doors along the street, a police car parked at the end of grafton street alongside an ambulance. apparently there had been an incident and they were doing door to door to ask if anybody had seen or heard anything. i had not and neither had Mrs sid so that was the end of that interview.as they were talking to me a van pulled up with several large police dogs baying in the back. it is now a week later and nobody around here seems to know what went on, checked on warrington worldwide and the guardian websites but so far nothing. oh well maybe sometime in the near future the incident will come to light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DS Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Well Sid, if you look now you will find out what was going on! The police only issued the information late yesterday (Thursday.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I confess that apart from reading the Front page, I don't read any media news anymore either online or newspapers. Even TV news that was a MUST, is getting far-fetched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 So, Lymm Parent, Observer, Safeway and Dismayed, you are all unashamedly freeloaders are you? I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! If Lymm Parent's list of "news" he or she can do without is anything to go by, the newspapers he or she reads at present are not the ones which cater for anyone with a serious interest in news! But does he or she pay for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygill Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! So all the adverts are free are they ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeway56 Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 So, Lymm Parent, Observer, Safeway and Dismayed, you are all unashamedly freeloaders are you?I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! If Lymm Parent's list of "news" he or she can do without is anything to go by, the newspapers he or she reads at present are not the ones which cater for anyone with a serious interest in news! But does he or she pay for it? Me a freeloader ? I'm one of the remaining few who have their newspapers delivered at a cost of ?8.90 per week. When I said Murdoch wouldn't be getting any of my cash I completely overlooked the Sky TV package for which I pay 46 quid a month. If there were any rival companies offering the same service I would willingly pay more just to avoid enriching the Dirty Digger any further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygill Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 If there were any rival companies offering the same service I would willingly pay more just to avoid enriching the Dirty Digger any further. Richard Branson doesn't do a bad job !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! So all the adverts are free are they ? Andy I can assure you the advertising on this website (and most others) is nowhere near enough to paying the salaries. People complain about the dumbing down of the media and yet they are not prepared to pay for it. Fortunately the advertising revenue form the magazines keeps us going, even through these difficult times for many media organisations. The starting salary on evening newspapers now is around ?12-?15k a year and on some local papers less than that! Like anything in life you get what you pay for. One poster was complaining the other day that we had not updated the news pages on a Sunday - and yet the vast majority of you expect something for nothing. This will continue to be a free service we provide for the forseeable future. If you respond to our advertisers please let them know - so we can put the rates up! Everyone wants something for nothing these days - and we wonder why the economy is in free fall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 OK Safeway, if you are prepared to pay to have your newspaper delivered, why wouldn't you pay for your online news? And if you dislike Murdoch so much, why subscribe to his "tabloid" TV channel? Andy. Advertising is a separate issue. No matter how much, or how little, a website receives from advertising, the fact remains that the reader is getting the service (including the advertising) for free. For some reason, people seem to think the internet should be free. What I am asking is, WHY? Even the NHS isn't free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeway56 Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I spend three hours every morning reading the Guardian.Reading the news off a monitor doesn't appeal to me. Like I said in a previous post I reluctantly subscribe to Sky primarily for the Rugby League coverage which isn't available elsewhere. I wouldn't have any of Murdoch's newspapers hanging on the back of the door in my outside privy. As for his Fox News..it's even more right wing than some of the posters on here and that's saying summat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygill Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Andy. Advertising is a separate issue. No matter how much, or how little, a website receives from advertising, the fact remains that the reader is getting the service (including the advertising) for free. Totally agree however my comment about advertising was in relation to your comment that we expect people who provide online news do do it for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygill Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! So all the adverts are free are they ? Andy I can assure you the advertising on this website (and most others) is nowhere near enough to paying the salaries. People complain about the dumbing down of the media and yet they are not prepared to pay for it. Fortunately the advertising revenue form the magazines keeps us going, even through these difficult times for many media organisations. The starting salary on evening newspapers now is around ?12-?15k a year and on some local papers less than that! Like anything in life you get what you pay for. One poster was complaining the other day that we had not updated the news pages on a Sunday - and yet the vast majority of you expect something for nothing. This will continue to be a free service we provide for the forseeable future. If you respond to our advertisers please let them know - so we can put the rates up! Everyone wants something for nothing these days - and we wonder why the economy is in free fall! Out of interest Gary what was the initial business motivation for having an online presence ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! So all the adverts are free are they ? Andy I can assure you the advertising on this website (and most others) is nowhere near enough to paying the salaries. People complain about the dumbing down of the media and yet they are not prepared to pay for it. Fortunately the advertising revenue form the magazines keeps us going, even through these difficult times for many media organisations. The starting salary on evening newspapers now is around ?12-?15k a year and on some local papers less than that! Like anything in life you get what you pay for. One poster was complaining the other day that we had not updated the news pages on a Sunday - and yet the vast majority of you expect something for nothing. This will continue to be a free service we provide for the forseeable future. If you respond to our advertisers please let them know - so we can put the rates up! Everyone wants something for nothing these days - and we wonder why the economy is in free fall! Out of interest Gary what was the initial business motivation for having an online presence ? 10 years ago we launched the first online newspaper in mainland Britain after seeing a similar venture launched in the Shetland isles. As a local news agency we had lots of news coming into our organisation and a shrinking market to sell it to. We decided to launch an online newspaper and then promote it with a magazine, giving advertisers the choice of traditional advertising and online advertising - best of both worlds. It is also a very good promotional tool for our business especially with the onset on online radio, facebook, twitter e.t.c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 So, Lymm Parent, Observer, Safeway and Dismayed, you are all unashamedly freeloaders are you?I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! So am I an unashamable freeloader... never been asked that one before? By your definition I guess I must be as you wouldn;t have said it but by my definition I'm not. I pay my TV licence so that entitles me to watch the news without having to pay extra. I also pay for my cable TV package which entitles me to watch the channels I've ALREADY had to pay for with my TV licence plus many others of course which also include news. I pay my internet IPS provider for my broadband package so that entitles me to read whatever news stories they chose to publish on the internet. I also pay for my paper copies of newspapers if I fancy reading one rather than go down the route of the strange people who stand in the shop reading them then put them back without buying them. If an online news service choses to charge their readers an additional subscription for accessing their news pages online then thats upto them but I wouldn't bother paying for it when the same information is freely available elsewhere. Did I say that before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 just caught up with the "incident" across the road from me and all i can say is EEEK. i have learnt from a neighbour that it was the second incident that week, apparently the police were looking for somebody on Sunday morning as well and were told that he had been seen going into a house in our street. i must go round with my eyes closed as i seem never to see these things just read about them after the event Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LymmParent Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 So, Lymm Parent, Observer, Safeway and Dismayed, you are all unashamedly freeloaders are you?I don't know what your occupations are, or were, but would you work for free? I doubt it. But that is what you are expecting the people who provide online news to do! If Lymm Parent's list of "news" he or she can do without is anything to go by, the newspapers he or she reads at present are not the ones which cater for anyone with a serious interest in news! But does he or she pay for it? I don't expect anyone to work for free, Horace. I expect journalists to be paid for doing their jobs. I simply do not expect to have to pay TWICE for the same work. I certainly don't expect to be paid twice if someone reads/uses my work twice. I pay for my broadband access and my telephone line, and I put up with the endless procession of advertising that pays for the rest of it. My list of news items was a reflection of the online content available to me most days on the sites that want me to pay to read it, not a list of my preferences. Perhaps you have a grown up friend who can explain to you the concept of irony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 LP, install an ad-blocker.... I don't see any ads since I stuck mine on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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