I want it to be known that I support quality journalism. the Seattle Times in Mid March will be erecting an online barrier to encourage people to subscribe. Will this have an effect on their web site traffic? Will it have an effect on the pop-unders and overs and other ad graffiti I find coming from their site?
If you read in the latest edition of the Seattle Times, they have laid out the reasons of why they are putting in a paywall like the New York Times and many other online media that are focused on the bottom line. Their ink based medium simply cannot pay for its basis any more. And neither can the ad supported online editions either.
So to be fair to the people that pay for the online edition of the Seattle Times, they are activating an online block from random readers or mass online consumers of their site without paying for the work that their company put their hard earned time into.
Some may not agree with my sentiments. And that is fine and their right to not go to the Seattle Times and consume the content posted there or post in their online forums or associate with the blogger core they have.
But my concern was if the local newspaper of Clark County was considering erecting a similar paywall to content on their site. I know through the use of multiple ad trackers and web design widgets they use, that they are certainly and acutely aware from where their online customers come from, to what areas they haunt and if they are associated content makers of their site.
So their web development or IT infrastructure is sure to know some basic statistics of what is important to their readers? And if it is not enough, the editor lovingly loves to host coffee parties in downtown Vancouver with the who's who of local rabble scratch to find out what is going on and what people think?
And if you think he DOES not know enough, why get on the horn blower or through some form of other means and let him know how you feel? He always LOVES to hear from his readers! If you don't know, do a search on Press Talk through one of the various search engines!
That is his weekly attempt at humorous applause and thoughts of what has happened during the week or to address issues he feel are necessary to comment on without having a fully paid PR person standing next to him with a crayola set ready to tell him how to improve it...
My question and concern is and he can address well next week in his column, does he think the paper will ever consider a pay-wall for the paper, if finances get so bad, they have no option.
Folks, remember. The owners have already gone bankrupt once over a really nice building they built next door. So if it may happen again, it might be really serious. I would go wave at the city hall they built FREE for them the next time you are in the area...
I am just not sure pay walls will help this industry, financially. Either for the Seattle Times or the newspaper of record? All they are doing is simply just causing the new readership to go elsewhere to consume news...
Let me say it in the best way I can. When I am up in Seattle, I tend to pick up a paper or two. And if I could afford a subscription, I might just drop one for a Sunday edition - online edition. It is worth it to me.
But for what I see from the local newspaper week after week? One has to creating a comedy train wreck if they think I will spend one iota for a digital subscription.....
