There’s no doubt that the newspaper industry is in dire straits – News Corp, which includes The Times, reported a $3.38bn loss – and many media moguls may well be breathing a sigh of relief that Murdoch has led the way in seizing this thorny issue which has long been of concern.  The claim is that the digital revolution is ‘cannabilising’ quality journalism by giving away content.  Consumers are choosing to get their news for free online causing newspaper sales to fall further, combined with a worldwide decline in advertising revenues.  Thus, newspapers must find new methods of generating income.

The question is, will it be possible to change the public mindset and convince users that they should start to pay?  The digital generation which has grown up with the internet, considers free content to be their birthright – a recent survey showed that a third of Europeans aged 16 to 24 had no intention of paying for online content such as video and music.  There seems to be even stronger antipathy to the concept of paying for news with a Netimperative poll  indicating that 87.5 per cent would not be willing to pay for mainstream news online. 

Brand is Key

However, some titles such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times already levy charges to online users- the New York Times ‘pay wall’ generated $10m a year, while it lasted.  In the aftermath of Murdoch’s announcement, both the Financial Times, which charges for some content, and the Boston Globe have indicated that they are also considering payment schemes.  Perhaps if a brand is strong enough, the consumer can be convinced to pay for what he believes is a unique ‘product’.  Guardian Media Group has recently mooted the idea of creating a paid-for ‘members club’ giving readers access to exclusive content.

Opponents of the fee model also point out that web publishing is based on gaining mass traffic from open access, but a pay wall will destroy this benefit.  As media expert Neville Hobson  points out, the raising of a pay wall could open the way for redundant journalists to become bloggers and build their own alternative news sites.  He suggests that piecemeal pay-for options, targeted at niche readers offers a more viable approach.

Yet again, the newspaper industry is facing a time of great change.  During its often tumultuous past, it has proved adept at handling turmoil and I tend to think that this latest challenge is likely to be no different.  The question of how news is to be funded will not go away – whether the solution is subscriptions, advertising or a combination of the two, the industry must re-assess the new digital media landscape and find a way it can adapt in order to prosper within it.