Despite the buzz on paid content, subscription sites and micro-payments, the idea that putting up pay walls and toll booths to save newspapers seems destined to only hasten the erosion of community relevance for newspapers.
If the newspaper industry were Twitter, going to paid content most certainly would be a “Fail Whale” moment. But unlike Twitter all would not be well in just a few minutes.
Many editors seem to be having second thoughts about the industry’s
practice of giving away stories and photos on their Web sites.
Twenty-eight percent of the respondents said they plan to charge for
online content. About 20 percent said they will offer some coverage
exclusively in their print editions to reward their paying customers.
— AP story on APME editor survey