What Media Content Will You Pay For?

This story will be replayed over and over for some time. Print and other 'old media' providers are trying to figure out how to survive in a new digital world. In the case of the New York Times, 'print' subscriptions appear to be dropping like the thermometer in North Dakota in January. Now Mashable is reporting that the NYT will be announcing a 'metered payment model'.

I have not finished it yet the book yet, but I am reading "The Long Tail", by Chris Anderson. He also wrote, "Free: The Future of a Radical Price". In the latter, Chris wrote:

"There may be more of them, not fewer, as the ability to participate in journalism extends beyond the credentialed halls of traditional media. But they may be paid far less, and for many it won’t be a full time job at all. Journalism as a profession will share the stage with journalism as an avocation. Meanwhile, others may use their skills to teach and organize amateurs to do a better job covering their own communities, becoming more editor/coach than writer. If so, leveraging the Free—paying people to get other people to write for non-monetary rewards—may not be the enemy of professional journalists. Instead, it may be their salvation."

If you work in 'old-school' journalism, this is a threat. It's not new. Think computers vs mainframes. This trend has been underway for a long time. I am not convinced that 'bloggers' will completely replace 'journalist', but this is real. Check out this report: A Graphic History of Newspaper Circulation Over the Last Two Decades. (Note that the Wall Street Journal Data, beginning in 2003, included paid online subscriptions. Interestingly enough, they have held their own). 

Listen, I realize that business exist to make money. It's business. Subscriptions have worked for years, coupled with adverting. That advertising money is moving to the Internet. Subscriptions will continue to exist, but the game has forever changed. Time will tell how this will evolve. In the mean time, it will be interesting to watch.

(BTW, I subscribe to the WSJ, FT, and NYT on my Kindle .. another variable .. I'll have to share my experience with that later).
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