Doomed Idea, Charge Everyone for Content
April 6, 2009
You can find quite a few posts in this Web log’s archive about making money online. Believe it or not, there are some things that don’t work too well. Business moguls don’t read this Web log, but these folks have confidence in their business acumen. A recent example is Rupert Murdoch’s plan to charge for newspaper content. “Rupert Murdoch Calls for Newspapers to Charge for Website Access” here provides some insight into how confident business managers assume that business models that worked in the pre digital world will work in today’s digital ecosystem.
For me, the most interesting comment in the article was:
Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp, has said that people reading the websites of newspapers should be paying. According to Murdoch, the ad revenues that many publishers expect to offset the costs of its digital operations will not cover their costs.
The stridency of these traditional media companies’ executives is amusing. Here in Harrod’s Creek, we watch the mine drainage seep into the pond. We splash in the warm, murky water and listen to the muted drone of I-71. The goslings and I know that the dead tree crowd are likely to drown in a sea of red ink. Maybe these folks should chill, kick back and join us in rural Kentucky? The goslings and I can explain how online revenue can flow and demo some interesting new ways to meet users information needs. On the other hand, it may be too late.
Stephen Arnold, April 7, 2009
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