The head of the second largest newspaper chain in the US says paywalls are a short term tactic reports Matthew Ingram writing at gigaom. The report quotes Digital First CEO John Paton:
“Let’s be clear, paid digital subscriptions are not a long-term strategy. They don’t transform anything; they tweak. At best, they are a short-term tactic. I have said that often enough in the past. But it’s a tactic that will help us now.”
We don’t hear this from Australian publishers. Paton also need:
‘“Print dollars are becoming digital dimes. But costs are still in dollars and, like most newspaper companies, we are radically reducing those costs. Companies like Digital First Media have to manage the decline of one medium while building for – and in some cases, waiting for – the new revenue streams to grow.”
The article is a fascinating and rare insight into how paywalls are playing our for US newspapers. Australian publishers will say our market is different. Maybe so. However, as a recent spat between News and fairfax on digital subscriptions shows, it’s a challenged space. In the meantime, from a newsagent perspective, all we know is that over the counter sales continue to be challenged.