Editor’s web blog has some intriguing analysis on the economic viability of online news subscriptions. Emma Heald tucks away a nice thought at the end of her blog:
“And although one can argue that the consumer will be benefiting from the quality content that would be supported by pay schemes, their online news experience is likely to suffer if they are confronted by frequent paywalls that stop them from roaming the web freely.”
If online news subscription models become common place it will be a double edged sword. High quality journalism will be sustainable but it will no longer reach a vast number of people. Say what you will about the decline of newsroom numbers and the rise of PR-infused reporting, but right now anyone anywhere with an internet connection can access the cream of the crop of global journalism.
It’s an obvious point to make but a strangely ironic thought that although journalists desire a business model to sustain their battle to ‘preserve democracy’ they’ll no longer be reaching the masses they seek to inform.
I can’t imagine it’s exactly what Al Gore imagined when he was getting teary-eyed about the internet and the free flow of information.
Information comes with a price tag, baby.
Posted by Dan 
