Should local news media remain free online, or are you ok with a monthly access fee?

[theclemsonkid]

My local newspaper has just rolled out a new pricing structure to read their online edition. It will cost you $8.99 per month for access. If you don't pay, you get three articles "for free" per month, and then your IP will be blocked out for the remainder of the month. Mind you, this is a traditional paper, that normally is lagging 12-20 hours behind on most stories anyways (when you can get real time updates almost instantly on Twitter).

As a 33 year old, who is probably in their target demographic, I think this will be suicide for their paper. Not only is there a wealth of other free options for news, those other options are usually faster and more accurate. I can't imagine anyone actually paying for this service other than perhaps the 60+ demographic who don't know any better.

What are your thoughts? Would you ever pay money to read the news, all things considered?

 

[beth]

Many newspapers are doing this, including my local paper. It cost money to put up a webpage and local newspapers are cash-strapped as it is. I wondered myself as you are now when it happened in my town. It seems they got a lot more traffic when they were offering it for free which would be more opportunities for ad sales for the paper; however, my paper has had the fee for a few yrs now and it seems to be working for them.

Can't blame a business for trying to make money to stay afloat.

 

[geridoc]

Long Island Newsday online is free for subscribers to the printed edition. So I subscribe, and use the paper to line the bottom of our bird's cages, and read the online edition. OTOH, the NY Times online edition is free for 10 articles/month. Beyond that, you have to subscribe to either the paper or online editions. While the paper editions lag behind realtime sources, their coverage is far more comprehensive (school news, local governmental news, etc), and Newsday continuously updates its online edition throughtout the day, so for the major stories it is not far behind.

 

[aggiealum]

My local paper offers a delivery/online rate for subscribers. If you order a delivery of at least the Sunday edition and one other day, they give you online access for the rest of the week. They have a "free" web site that covers most of the major stories of the day, but there are several other op-ed and "inside" articles you can only read if you're a full subscriber. Call me old fashioned, but I still like sitting at the breakfast table in the morning with a cup of coffee and an actual newspaper to read. When viewing the same articles on my tablet, I have to constantly move the screen back and forth just to read the entire story. Also, my wife insists on getting the Sunday edition simply for the store flyers and the coupons. Also, what would the "morning constitutional" be like without having a hardcopy newspaper to take to the throne with you?

 

[dragonzim]

Quote:
Originally Posted by GeriDoc http:///t/397366/should-local-news-media-remain-free-online-or-are-you-ok-with-a-monthly-access-fee#post_3541604
Long Island Newsday online is free for subscribers to the printed edition. So I subscribe, and use the paper to line the bottom of our bird's cages, and read the online edition. OTOH, the NY Times online edition is free for 10 articles/month. Beyond that, you have to subscribe to either the paper or online editions. While the paper editions lag behind realtime sources, their coverage is far more comprehensive (school news, local governmental news, etc), and Newsday continuously updates its online edition throughtout the day, so for the major stories it is not far behind.
Also free if you are an Optimum internet or TV customer. I am neither, but I still have my account from when I was a cablevision subscriber.

 

[flower]

Hi,

I pay 9.99 every 3 months for the on-line Tribune...I like the crossword puzzles and such, but I hate the clutter of newspaper. You can get the "news" anywhere, even my internet home page offers the latest updates.

LOL...The only ACTUAL newspaper I purchase is the Daily Harold, and only because that paper is the perfect fit for my birdcage. Once I get a good stack (about 1 month) I stop the delivery until I need paper again.

 

[reefraff]

My local paper (The Denver Com Post) charges now too. I dropped delivery because of their crappy coverage I sure ain't gonna pay to read it on line. Had a great paper when I lived in Montana but it isn't really relevant now that I live in Colorado. I'll make do with other sources for local news. I would think this will end up costing them plenty in revenue on line.

 

[aggiealum]

Quote:
Originally Posted by reefraff http:///t/397366/should-local-news-media-remain-free-online-or-are-you-ok-with-a-monthly-access-fee#post_3541676
My local paper (The Denver Com Post) charges now too. I dropped delivery because of their crappy coverage I sure ain't gonna pay to read it on line. Had a great paper when I lived in Montana but it isn't really relevant now that I live in Colorado. I'll make do with other sources for local news. I would think this will end up costing them plenty in revenue on line.
It's all a scam as it stands right now. I used to get the paper delivered 7 days a week, and it cost me $18/month. The next time my subscription came up for renewal, they jacked it up to $28/month for the same paper. Some of the daily papers were only about 36 pages long (that's all sections). Needless to say, I told them where to put their paper. I just made it a normal trek every Sunday morning to my local Quick Stop for a Sunday paper and a coffee, and it costs $2.50 a week. Then I got a Groupon a couple weeks ago where I could get 52 weeks of Wednesday/Sunday hardcopy delivery, and online access to every day for $52 ($1/week). So now I essentially get the same service I would've had to pay $28/month for $4.34/month. Tells you what their product is really worth...

 

[reefraff]

I remember when the delivery rate was like half of the news stand rate. Them days are gone. If the Denver Post were a quality paper like the Missoulian was back where I lived in MT I'd subscribe. I would read nearly every section of that paper including the classifieds. This paper has a lot of crap in it, even a section dedicated to nothing but Marijuana LOL!