Paywalls — How to evaluate a New York Times subscription

by Paul Wallis (Guest Contributor/Digital Journalist)

Some will have noticed I’m not exactly a great admirer of mainstream media. It took me ages to decide to subscribe to The New York Times, and the reasons weren’t what I expected.

It was a popup that started it. I had 2 articles left for the month. Did I want to subscribe, and if so, why? The only thing that ever bothered me about New York Times subscriptions was that they might pull the plug on the NYT the way they have on other papers. That would have been a loss, because NYT is one of the few good sources of news online without that weird editorial Kama Sutra approach to information. I’ve been reading the NYT for well over a decade, made a few comments and it’s one of my few compulsive mainstream media stops when looking for information on any subject.

Even so, I baulked at a subscription. The NYT gives you 20 free articles a month. That’s pretty good value, and it’s been enough for my needs as a writer and a consumer. That said- Some other issues popped up. Paul Krugman alone writes roughly that many articles per month. So do David Brooks and Frank Rich. These are guys who know how to put together an argument, and if I don’t always agree with them, I can at least respect their talent and ability to make their points. That can’t be said for many other mainstream media outlets.

I read at least three news sites a day. I read Bloomberg, The New York Times, BBC, ABC Australia, PBS and sometimes Washington Post, in the search for non-rabid news. I’ve got Reuters and AP bookmarked, and Google News on tap.

So, the evaluation works out like this:

1. The New York Times contains a lot more depth in major articles and op-eds and degrees of literacy which are notably missing from other sites.

2. I’ve had more than enough of politically motivated troll-news, and if the NYT has a Democrat flavour, it’s not based on clichés and macro-posts like other sites.

3. Do I use NYT research commercially? Yes. It pays for itself, and the site is pretty good in terms of searching for specific information.

4. The raw material approach from NYT is stronger and much broader

5. Do I need to see opinions from Krugman, Brooks, Rich, et al? Yes. They provide perspective, whether I agree or not.

6. Does the information value justify $1.10 a day? Yep.

7. Do I prefer to subscribe to things like this using PayPal rather than a credit card? Yes. I don’t use credit cards online unless it’s absolutely 200% essential.

8. Am I the sort of cheapskate that figures things out this way? Yep.

9. Is there a cancelation/refund policy? Yep.

Having read the NYT for well over 10 years and found a 99c offer for the first month (as distinct from $35, I signed up. Rupert Murdoch was right – Quality sells.

I still don’t agree with paywalls. I think that advertising revenue from fixed prices and marketing news site products (imagine a Best of The New York Times historical package 2000-2010, let alone the rest of its history) is a better and more realistic commercial option. I’m still worried that lousy business models will obliterate good news media. I still don’t like, or trust, MSM as a whole. But I’ll go along with this.

This article originally appeared in Digital Journal [Link]

New York Times online traffic dips since paywall debut

by David Silverberg

New figures released this week found NYTimes.com traffic dropping since the company introduced a paywall on March 28. Its share of American pageviews for all newspaper websites decreased from 13 percent in March to 10.6 percent in April, its lowest share in 12 months, according to a study from ComScore, as reported by AdAge.

The study discovered pageviews on NYTimes.com from March to April declined 24.4 percent.

The ComScore study supports analysis by Hitwise, which announced in early April that traffic to NYTimes.com slowed by up 15 percent “most days during the 12 days following the paywall’s launch, compared to days during the previous period,” PaidContent reports.

A New York Times Co. spokeswoman was quick to point how many news sites saw a traffic decline this month due to the high volume of news traffic in March, due to major events such as the tsunami in Japan. “Despite that, and given that this is the first month where you can see the traffic patterns post-digital subscription launch, these are actually better numbers than our internal projections,” she told AdAge.

Also, Times execs said during its first-quarter conference call in late April 1 that it had already added 100,000 subscribers. What has yet to be determined is if those subscribers will continue their membership after the 99-cent introductory rate soon ends.

UK newspaper The Telegraph may charge for content in September

by David Silverberg

Don’t call it a paywall. The Telegraph is planning to roll out a digital content system to charge for some of its content, the Guardian has learned, but the technology won’t act as a full paywall. In the UK, paywalls currently exist on newspaper sites such as News International’s Times, Sunday Times and News of the World.

The Telegraph’s metered plan will launch in September. It will supposedly allow readers to access certain content free, and then ask readers to pay a certain fee if they read more than a designed amount of articles.

The Guardian writes: “The system set to be introduced has been described by one source as ‘very light touch’, with a ‘very generous allowance’ before users would reach the metered limit and be forced to register and pay.”

A source told the Guardian the goal of this initiative is to encourage readers to subscribe to the print edition, which will then give them free access to digital content on the Telegraph website.

Neither confirming nor denying the specific report, a spokesperson from the Telegraph says a payment system is still up in the air: “Absolutely no decisions have been made on the introduction of a paid-content model. Like all publishers, TMG continually evaluates the developments in the digital sector.”

Personal news service ‘Ongo’ blends aggregation with paywalls

By Chris Hogg

It calls itself a “personal news service.” Others ask if it’s the craziest startup idea ever. The business is Ongo and it’s a news site attempting to blend aggregated content with paywalls.

“Premiering with more than a dozen top-tier titles in a single interface designed for readability, Ongo delivers full articles and convenient customization features, along with editorial curation that uncovers vital and interesting stories beyond the day’s top headlines,” a company press release reads.

Ongo says it offers an “immersive” reading experience where users can easily search, save and share stories — something it says other news aggregators fail at doing. “Many of today’s online news aggregation services are disjointed, distracting experiences — providing only snippets of articles surrounded by links and ads that require readers to jump from site to site,” the company says.

With its debut, Ongo will be carrying content from The Washington Post, The Associated Press, The Guardian, Slate, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, USA Today, and selected content from the Financial Times and the New York Times.

Ongo promises to carry content from these sources, strip out ads, improve the interface and charge $7 per month for a base subscription (for select Financial Times stories, as well as content from the Washington Post, USA Today, select New York Times content and AP stories). It costs an additional $0.99 to add content from other sources (Slate, Boston Globe or other regional newspapers).

“Yes, Ongo is going to charge for news that’s generally free on the web,” Jay Yarow from Business Insider notes. “Crazy, right? We think so, but Ongo CEO Alex Kazim doesn’t seem rattled.”

Yarow compares Ongo to basic cable, where you pay a flat fee for content and you get more for a little extra cash each month.

According to Business Insider, Ongo execs estimate the service could generate $6.99 per user, so 1 million users would make it a $100-million business. With 100,000 users, it would be worth $10 million.

Kazim previously worked at Skype, PayPal and eBay and Ongo investors include USA Today, New York Times and Gannet who put $12 million into the company in September 2010.

The company launches today with mobile apps and a traditional website. More info on product features can be found via the company’s press release. A demo of the service is available via a company YouTube video:

Report: New York Times online subscription will cost less than $20/Month

By Chris Hogg

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg is reporting the New York Times will charge less than $20 per month for full access to its online newspaper when it launches its paywall later this month.

As Bloomberg reports: “The price has been set at less than the $19.99 that customers pay for a New York Times subscription on Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle reader, said the person, who declined to be identified because the price hasn’t been made public yet.”

The price point is in-line with what New York Times president Scott Heekin-Canedy said last month, when he announced it would be comparable to the Kindle subscription.

The paywall issue is a big one for media publishers who fear a switch to a paid-only option will drive away readership, which in-turn will affect advertising. The issue has been big in media circles since The Guardian reported The Times Online in the United Kingdom saw its online readership drop by almost 90 percent after the paywall went up. Numbers from Nielsen Co. show a 40 percent drop in the first several months after the paywall was announced, Bloomberg notes.

“Times Co. and other newspaper publishers are trying to determine how much of their online content should remain free, how much can be moved behind a paywall, and how much to charge for access,” Bloomberg reports. “The companies are seeking new revenue sources as print advertising and circulation revenue decline amid competition from Internet publications.”

Janet Robinson, CEO of Times Co. said some content will remain free but the company will begin charging for content in the first quarter of this year.

The New York Times will allow visitors to its site to read a set number of articles each month before being prompted to pay for full access. The number of stories visitors can read for free has yet to be announced. Print subscribers will have full access to the online publication at no extra charge.