MARY PESKIN | Paid content is one of the biggest debates within the newspaper industry. Rocked by declining print circulation and advertising, disruptive Internet technologies and competition from a variety of new players and industries, the traditional bedrock of American journalism stands at a precipice. Pay-for-content models have surfaced as the hope for saving the industry (or at least holding on) as the economics of the Internet, and the behaviors of its consumers, are evolving. Numerous plans have emerged in recent months, fueled by the momentum of paid content ambitions from publishers, vendors and consultants. Each day brings a new vision and a new discussion.
In November 2008, the American Press Institute conducted a summit with top newspaper executives to help their companies address the industry's revenue crisis. Discussions at that meeting and two that followed in the spring coalesced around key issues, one of which is charging for news content online. In May, API produced a report designed to address that issue with a recommended agenda for action. Newsmedia Economic Action Plan offers models and recommendations for the migration of online content from free to pay. You can download a free copy by clicking the link.
In the months since the NEAP report was written, the notion of monetizing content has been getting some traction and more newspapers are announcing various models for charging for content. Much of the discussion has been focused on bigger players like the WSJ and the Financial Times, but lately, small- and medium-circulation papers are announcing plans to get online readers to pay for access to their Web sites. Recent launches include online subscriptions for Freedom's Valley Morning Star in Harlingen, Texas, and The Lima News in Lima, Ohio, as well as "membership benefits" for online consumers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the nation's first metro paper to move to paid access.
API continued the discussion at an invitation-only conference last week. The program was based on the report -- an integrated five-point plan to guide the news industry through the current disruptions and position itself for the future. It provides a recommended agenda for action, including research and case studies of the most promising paid content plans.
We also released the initial findings of API's nationwide survey to monitor media companies' online revenue initiatives - including pay for content. Our partners in this research are ITZ Publishing and Belden Interactive, operating as ITZBelden. With the survey results, news organizations have more tools to draft a better blueprint for the future. For the first time, you can see what approaches your peers are taking to issues like paid access, site registration, electronic editions and tracking original content across the Web.
Join in the discussion of important news industry topics here in our new blog "API Now" -- a place that has been devoted to Newspaper Next, API's ground-breaking initiative on disruptive innovation. We will discuss the initiatives and opportunities for monetizing content, the future of journalism, technology, new business models, revenue generation and social media and other important and relevant issues.
