The current hot topic on the media blog beat is online media organizations charging for access to their archives and way it’s a bad idea. Some of what’s being said.
Dan Gillmor:One of these days, a newspaper currently charging a premium for access to its article archives will do something bold: It will open the archives to the public — free of charge but with keyword-based advertising at the margins.
I predict that the result will pleasantly surprise the bean-counters. There’ll be a huge increase in traffic at first, once people realize they can read their local history without paying a fee. Eventually, though not instantly, the revenues will greatly exceed what the paper had been earning under the old system. Meanwhile, the expenses to run it will drop.
And…
Alan Mutter: It is oddly strange and strangely irritating that many newspapers charge for searching their online archives. Let’s review the facts, as painfully obvious as they may be:
Fact 1: Which current events are the most interesting to the most people most of the time? Duh! The latest events. That’s why we call it “news,” isn’t it?
Fact 2: Which current events ordinarily are closest to heart, hearth and pocketbook? Double duh!! Local events.
Fact 3: What is the single most valuable and proprietary product of a local newspaper? Triple duh with a cherry on top!!! The latest local news.
Therefore, one may fairly conclude that the biggest opportunity for monetizing online newspaper content ought to be charging for the freshest local news. Contrary to this seemingly impeccable logic, however, most newspapers give away the news for free on the web, but then charge a nuisance fee for fishing an old article out of their electronic morgue.
And…
Adrian Holovaty: Dan Gillmor gives plenty of reasons why newspapers shouldn’t charge for archives. Here’s another, plain and simple: Open newspaper archives are good for the community
Forget monetization, forget maintaining newspapers’ authority, forget being higher than competitors in search rankings. Journalism exists, in its golden ideal, to spread truth and give people information that helps their lives. Journalists should advance that cause as far as possible.
One more reason for newspapers to open their archives: it sends the right message, that the newspaper is part of the community and that it cares.
TECHNORATI TAGS: NEWSPAPERS, ARCHIVES
