Comments on: Brill’s content-selling plan http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/02/brills-content-selling-plan/ A collaborative effort to figure out the future of journalism. A project of Harvard University. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:28:00 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Will paid content work? Two cautionary tales from 2004 » Nieman Journalism Lab » Pushing to the Future of Journalism http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/02/brills-content-selling-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-7604 Will paid content work? Two cautionary tales from 2004 » Nieman Journalism Lab » Pushing to the Future of Journalism Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:38:08 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1759#comment-7604 [...] the recent secret memos and TIME cover stories, the topic of “paid content” has once again grabbed the [...] [...] the recent secret memos and TIME cover stories, the topic of “paid content” has once again grabbed the [...]

]]> By: Alan Jacobson http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/02/brills-content-selling-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-7562 Alan Jacobson Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:06:05 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1759#comment-7562 Why do newspapers and their sites refuse to consider paying for journalism the old-fashioned way - with paid advertising? Here are ways to monetize online. Google does it. They can, too: http://www.brasstacksdesign.com/bell_tolls_for_time_too.htm http://www.brasstacksdesign.com/monetize_online.htm Why do newspapers and their sites refuse to consider paying for journalism the old-fashioned way – with paid advertising?

Here are ways to monetize online. Google does it. They can, too:

http://www.brasstacksdesign.com/bell_tolls_for_time_too.htm

http://www.brasstacksdesign.com/monetize_online.htm

]]> By: Martin Langeveld http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/02/brills-content-selling-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-7558 Martin Langeveld Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:55:55 +0000 http://www.niemanlab.org/?p=1759#comment-7558 I bet Bill Keller wishes he hadn't been so specific in detailing the conceivable ways you can get readers to pay. He never said any method was under active consideration, but he seems to have unleashed a torrent of suggestions for how to do it. Brill completely ignores what happens to the 20 million uniques once his model is instituted. If it's cut in half because of the paywall, there goes half his revenue, and the associated advertising. If the Wall Street Journal can sustain about a million paying online customers, maybe the Times can, as well, which would yield $55 million in Brill's scheme, while killing much more than that in ad revenue and brand exposure. There are workable blueprints for introducing, gradually, some level of paid content associated with major new value propositions for readers, but this is not it. I bet Bill Keller wishes he hadn’t been so specific in detailing the conceivable ways you can get readers to pay. He never said any method was under active consideration, but he seems to have unleashed a torrent of suggestions for how to do it.

Brill completely ignores what happens to the 20 million uniques once his model is instituted. If it’s cut in half because of the paywall, there goes half his revenue, and the associated advertising. If the Wall Street Journal can sustain about a million paying online customers, maybe the Times can, as well, which would yield $55 million in Brill’s scheme, while killing much more than that in ad revenue and brand exposure.

There are workable blueprints for introducing, gradually, some level of paid content associated with major new value propositions for readers, but this is not it.

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