A thought I’ve been playing with for most of the morning as I recover from some fairly serious dental work: the fact that most people won’t/don’t want to pay for news is a good thing for newspapers.
Not for the business side, necessarily, but for the quality and depth of the journalism that newspapers deliver to us.
I’m not sure why this hasn’t occurred to me earlier: the success of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Select in attracting paying subscribers is based only partly on the access those customers get to content that isn’t available elsewhere, but also on the reputation both have for the quality of, and interest in, their work. While I will subscribe to both, based as much on the quality and interest as on the unique content, there are many, many, many publications that I don’t and won’t send money to.
As newspapers struggle for ways to finance an increasingly online presence, one of the ways they can attract money from readers like me is to deliver high-quality, compelling journalism. After all, I can get free access to most stories from any number of sources, whether it’s breaking international news, in-depth coverage of major events, or even neighbourhood-level hyperlocal journalism. I can meet that need without spending a cent (other than the cost of my internet connection).
Despite that, the desire for quality is something I’m willing to pay for, particularly when that quality comes combined with trust in the people providing the compelling storytelling.
Which is why the issue of free is good news, journalistically: it may force better journalism.
TAGS: NEWSPAPERS, SUBSCRIPTIONS
I’ve been thinking about this, too! The past month I’ve been working in a ‘real’, live newsroom has reminded me that quality is sometimes sacrificed too often for quantity’s sake (apologies for the cliché).
Even so, I think your “may” needs a heavy dose of realism forced upon us by the nature of the news ‘business’. The idea that argues quality is the way with which to gain — or maintain — readership (read revenue) is only one outcome. It’s kinda the glass-half-full thing.
Unfortunately, if we apply the same formula with different variables, it may become a better return on investment for conglomerates to cut losses, and run from the news business.
(On a side note: hasn’t it felt, perhaps until recently, that private companies used to own newspapers for the same reason that billionaires would buy basketball teams?).
I personally hope online news will force publishers and editors to ‘get it’, and move on with providing better journalism.
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