The Journal's problem wasn't that it was giving away free content, but that it had never gotten serious about business plans until the publisher got tired of the losses and put the brakes on. That's when this site really got serious about advertising, promotion, and marketing but also unfortunately started charging for access.

Vin Crosbie demontiert in Digital Deliverance genüsslich die Thesen zur online-Kostenpflicht von Zeitungen von Donn Friedman, online director beim Albuquerque Journal.

We're sharply criticizing Friedman's OJR article not because he had any bad intent or bad motivation (he certainly didn't) but because it is yet another drumbeat by a well-intentioned but mistaken band of people who advocate charging for content no matter what. The more they've played, the more strident our replying tone has become.

Avoid the latest online publishing vice. There are many things for which newspapers can charge online, but access isn't one. The problem is the newspaper's content, not the newspaper giving it away for free.

Hier weiterlesen: The Albuquerque Journal as a Bad Paid Content Model.