The Newspaper Crisis: Charging for Online Content Revisited

Published Mar 25 2009, 09:30 AM by Steven Stark

About six weeks ago ago, we filed a piece on how newspapers could reorganize themselves to survive in the internet age -- eventually charging for online content. It's theme that has preoccupied ace blogger Alan Mutter, who recently posted a piece from Bill Grueskin, former managing editor of wsj.com, on how news sites might be able to charge for content in the future. His suggestions (somewhat similar to ours):

"How about a daily email that told them what traffic spots to avoid, or an authoritative reader-generated guide to the best and worst public schoolteachers? Or a regularly updated site that told readers how much and why local real estate listings had dropped or risen in the last few weeks, along with examples of how certain homeowners got appraisals lowered? Or innovative coverage of local government, providing sample bills every time property taxes go up and video clips of commission meetings intertwined with analysis and context? In other words, content that is truly of online, not just posted there."

There's much more in the article worth reading.