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Bringing context to the newspaper contract debate

News Limited has been clear in its contract documentation that it is reviewing all aspects of newspaper distribution.  This must also include financial modelling on the future of the medium itself.

While publishers struggle with objective assessment of new digital delivery platforms of news – see this article at Pittsburgh live – other observers note that digital delivery of news is growing.

Publishers and others look at devices like the Amazon Kindle from the perspective of a newspaper.  This is like looking at an iPod from the perspective of a CD of music.  Today, people buy single songs.  In the future, we will buy individual articles by topic, by author or by category.

Technology will be the single biggest disruptive influence on the future of newspaper distribution in Australia.  Maybe not this year or next, but certainly in my lifetime.  This is what we must plan for.  This is why we must diversify.

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Media disruption

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  1. just an employee

    HAving been around computers and the net for nearly 15years, I have yet to pay for a song when I can get it for free and I am only taking a stab in the dark here but im guessing that there are millions more like me :D….
    Another stab in the dark, people arent, on the scale of current reader base, going to pay for individual news items when they can get the same news elsewhere for free..aargh me ‘earties. 😀

    They will also ( publishers ) lose an ever growing demographic here in Aus, the over 40’s reader who isnt really keen on purchasing a computer and internet connection just to read news.

    I agree with having to diversify, but I dont agree with deliberately remodelling an industry for no good reason other than “cause we can”

    This will only lead to further job losses and downsizing of businesses and closure of others, something Im not liking being forced contractually to be part of.

    If they can continue to cut the price of subscriptions to gain my hard fought for customer and have them pay direct, why is it so hard for them to pay us a little more and let us retain our customer, provide the same level of great service and actually turn a profit on a run instead of a loss. I cant see the sense in discounting one side to kill another, one that has been very good to them over the years.

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