Mr and Mrs. Newspaper aren’t happy at the moment. They’re being less read by the community, meaning their advertising space is worth less and they’re competing with the 24hour news cycle, meaning their stories can easily become out-dated. Their loyal readers seem to be a minority, with most switching to online. The newspaper family are trying their hardest to capture online readers. They’re giving promotional access to ipad apps and mobile phones, and posting their stories online on their organisations web page. Most news sites are free to view. So why would anyone pay to read the stories they print when they appear at no cost to the reader online? And not to mention, it is impossible for a printed newspaper to be as up to date as its online counterpart….is that really feasible in a reporting environment where breaking stories and reporting first seem crucial?
No, says global media moguls, who want online readers to start paying to view content. They argue good quality journalism must come at a cost. This seems understandable; the journalist needs to eat so therefore needs to be paid. The organisation they work for need money to pay them. Quality journalism and hard work should be financially rewarded but here’s what no one seems to say. Members of the public don’t care about journalists pay cheques, some do care about quality news but to the masses, news is news. And why would you pay for something you can get for free?
Online Journalism can too financially benefit from advertising, which is how many new media outlets have funded their establishment…but according to Rupert Murdoch, this simply isn’t enough. He believes good journalism must be paid for and by offering exclusive and competitive content, online news consumers will be happy to pay. In this 2009 story, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/aug/06/rupert-murdoch-website-charges it was reported the Murdoch would roll out internet news charges, but two years later, his rollout has been minimal.
The Murdoch owned Wall St Journal, is one of the few online news publications to charge for content.Murdoch speaking about paying for journalism content
For now, let’s enjoy what’s free but appreciate quality work provided by dedicated journalists.
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