Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Newspapers: Forget Paywalls, Take Content Live

Only 'experiences,' not content, can save the news: Jenkins

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 11, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

(Newser) – Suddenly every newspaper is talking about a Journal-style online paywall or a "freemium" subscription model, but Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins is resigned that "stunned and traumatized" papers are on their way out. Instead of paywalls, Papers should learn from the battered music industry, which has used "the long-tail economics of live enterprise" to fund hard-to-sell content. Newspapers' brands are still viable, even if their finances have collapsed.

"Newspapers will have to generate new markets for their wares," the columnist writes: concerts, sporting events, seminars, dating agencies. To survive, the content must become only the "core activity" supporting a diverse mass brand: "Goodbye Guardian, welcome the Guardian Experience."

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

A spread from the Guardian during protests against the G20 in London. (©markhillary)

The front page of the Guardian the day after Barack Obama's election. (©stuartpilbrow)

The offices of Guardian Media Group in north London. GMG posted sharp losses last quarter. (©markhillary)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I was once asked by a streetwise Californian what business I was in. When I said I wrote for the Guardian, he looked glum. 'Great brand,' he said, 'pity about the product.'
- Simon Jenkins

To be secure, a media operation must entice an audience to enjoy what the web cannot supplant, a paid-for exclusivity and an opportunity for a unique participative experience. - Simon Jenkins, Guardian columnist and former London Times editor

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Investors Snapping Up Daily Papers

Real estate a major factor in sale of 71 papers last year

(NEWSER) - Despite plunging revenue and circulation figures, plenty of people in America are still buying daily newspapers—lock, stock, and valuable headquarters. Some 71 daily papers were sold last year, and while some investors see buying a paper as a civic duty, others view it as a way to turn a quick profit, especially since newspapers tend to own large buildings in prime downtown locations, the New York Times finds. More»

Warren Buffett Buys Hometown Newspaper

At $200M, purchase not about investing

(NEWSER) - Warren Buffett makes news for his multi-billion-dollar investments, not a piddly $200 million—but Buffett surprised many people when he announced yesterday he was spending that to buy his hometown newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald, reports Bloomberg . The billionaire slammed the newspaper industry two years ago, saying it had the "potential for unending losses," and that he would never buy one "at any price." But now Buffett seems to have changed his tune: “I wouldn't do this if I thought this was doomed to some sort of extinction,” he said, according to the Omaha World-Herald . More»

New York Times Asks Twitter to Plug Paywall Loophole

Paper aims to firm up pay barrier before launch

(NEWSER) - The pay barrier for the New York Times' online content goes up on Monday and the newspaper is scrambling to make it more like a wall and less like a curtain full of holes. Users will be allowed 20 page views a month before the barrier comes down. But articles linked to from Twitter and Facebook can be viewed independent of the limit, leaving a huge loophole that the Times is now seeking to plug. More»

NY Times Paywall Details Leak

Most won't have to pay, paper says

(NEWSER) - The New York Times’ long-expected paywall is due next month, and details are starting to leak out about the plan. Everyone will have limited free access to the site, sources tell the Wall Street Journal , but once users reach that limit, they'll have to pony up. Users can buy either a subscription to just the site, or a digital bundle that also includes the Times’ iPad app. Subscribers to the physical paper will have full access to the website. More»

USA Today Plans 'Radical Overhaul,' Staff Slash

9% of workers cut as focus switches from print

(NEWSER) - USA Today will be laying off 9% of its 1,500 workers in what execs describe as a radical overhaul. The 28-year-old paper, struggling with falling circulation and advertising sales, plans to focus less on its print edition and more on producing content for the Internet and mobile devices, AP reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Newspapers: Forget Paywalls, Take Content Live