Industry Watches as Newspapers Try Paid Sites

For Now, Only a Few Make the Leap to Charging for Online Content

Oct 16, 2009

The debate over how newspapers can make money online is raging within the industry. Some publishers are taking action, putting pay walls around their websites.

News industry groups in the U.S. are intent on trying to help their member newspaper publishers make decisions on whether to charge for online content, if so how much, and which particular content best lends itself to a price tag. At the same time, technology companies are trying to sell these publishers services for managing the payments.

Who Is Experimenting With Paid Content?

While all that has been going on, a tiny number of smaller and medium-size papers have made the leap on their own. Industry observers are watching to see what affect these paid sites will have on business for their parent organizations.

Joseph Tartikoff of Paid Content.org writes about 3 that put up pay walls this year, as the debate began to dominate the industry. Rick Edmonds of the Poynter Institute writes in detail about a membership program that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette introduced on September 1.

What a Pay Wall Looks Like

There is no single formula for this, but rather a seemingly infinite combination of possible charges, and mix of content to charge for. The three newspapers described below took the plunge into the pool of paid content during the summer of 2009. Here is what their pay walls look like.

The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, NY, charges $2.95 per week for an online subcription. Home delivery of the print product costs $3 per week; for a penny more each week, those subscribers get complete online access. Nearly all of the site's content, including obituaries, is restricted to subscribers only.

The Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, TX, sells online-only subscriptions by the day (75 cents), month ($3.95), and year ($39.50). Daily print subscribers have free access to web content, but weekend edition subscribers must pay an additional $3.16 per month for online access, and Sunday-only subscribers are charged $3.56 per month for online privileges.

The Newport Daily News in Rhode Island made news industry headlines earlier this year when it introduced an online subscription rate – $345 annually – so high that it clearly stated publisher Buck Sherman's intention "to drive people back to the printed paper," and not to bring in online revenue. A print and online combo subscription costs $11 a month or $110 annually.

Introducing a Membership Program in Pittsburgh

Rick Edmonds, who tracks the business decisions of the news media for the Poynter Institute, notes that the Pittsburgh Post -Gazette is the first large metro paper in the U. S. to move from thinking about paid online content to venturing into the marketplace. The content for which they are seeking payment is a new service called PG+ which includes "extra editorial offerings," - look for star columnists and topic specialists to engage with those who sign on as members. A membership will cost $36 a year or $3.60 a month.

Where the smaller papers discussed here seem to have plunged ahead into the waters, the Pittsburgh experimenters may be wading into the paid content debate. They are not putting up walls that restrict access to what's there on the website, but appear to be adding something new, "a bonus package," Edmonds called it.

The copyright of the article Industry Watches as Newspapers Try Paid Sites in Newspaper Industry is owned by Kathlin F. Sickel. Permission to republish Industry Watches as Newspapers Try Paid Sites in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.