A New Future of Journalism By: Matt Couto, Yuko Inoue, Sarah Spitz, Megan Stacey and Dan Taekema

DEVELOPMENT Source

HOW DID WE GET HERE? Street corner and messenger model Advent of the Internet Acceptance of a “digital age” Movement of content to online spheres Revenue via digital advertising Fall of online ads Alternate revenue streams Reader subscription

PAYWALL MODELS IN THE INDUSTRY HARD PAYWALL MODEL METERED- PAYWALL MODEL PREMIUM CONTENT MODEL

A BRIEF RUNDOWN... HARD PAY FOR ACCESS TO ANY AND ALL CONTENT METERED PAY AFTER EXCEEDING ‘FREE SAMPLE’ LIMIT PREMIUM CONTENT PAY TO ACCESS CERTAIN CONTENT

HARD-PAYWALL MODEL PROS LOYAL READERS WILL PAY TO READ CONTENT CONS LESS PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY RIGHT AWAY NO WAY TO ‘HOOK’ READERS WITH INCENTIVE

HARD-PAYWALL MODEL EXAMPLE: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Case Study: One of the first news organization to set up a paywall. Hard style paywall. Readers pay to access all content. Daily access costs £1 (about $1.66 CDN) Paywall has been considered a failure by many. Described as “too harsh” and “alienating to readers” -Krashinsky, Susan. "Website pay wall drops Times of London readership." The Globeand Mail.

Case Study: Results: Lost over 4 million online readers Page views dropped by 90-per-cent -Erik Schonfeld, "The Times UK Lost 4 Million Readers to its Paywall Experiment.” TechCrunch.com Statistics from 2013 show approximately 2,100 subscribers are joining per month - Patrick Smith, "Three years on: Has the Times digital subscription project worked?.” The Media Briefing.

Case Study: Reasons for failure: Too harsh of a paywall, people can find same stories elsewhere online for free Loss of readers kills advertising potential which leads to further losses in subscription revenue. - Phillip Crawley, September 26, 2013, phone.

METERED-PAYWALL MODEL PROS AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO GRAB READERS ATTENTION LITTLE LOSS IN EYE TRAFFIC CONS SOME READERS SATISFIED WITH 10 FREE ARTICLES/MONTH HARD TO FIND THE RIGHT NUMBER OF FREE ARTICLES

METERED-PAYWALL MODEL EXAMPLES: NEW YORK TIMES, NATIONAL POST, GLOBE AND MAIL, OTTAWA CITIZEN

CASE STUDY: Established a metered paywall in March 2011 Options range from $3.75 per week to $8.75 per week depending on what you want access to 10 complimentary articles per month Considered by many to be the most successful paywall to date -Sulzberger, Arthur. "A Letter to Our Readers About Digital Subscriptions." The New York Times.

CASE STUDY: Results: As of August 2013 The New York Times has 699,000 online subscribers Approximately 100, 000 subscribers are joining each year The paywall brings in $150 million each year -Ryan Chittum, "The NYT's $150 million-a-year paywall." Columbia Journalism Review.

CASE STUDY:. Why has the paywall been such a success? The New York Times has an international audience It’s “elite journalism” high quality journalism that many readers consider worth paying for –Dinah Metah, "Newspaper Paywalls Canada: If you Build it Will They Pay?.” Huffington Post.

CASE STUDY: Toronto based news corporation that owns numerous papers including the National Post, Montreal Gazette and the Ottawa Citizen. Instituted a metered paywall in free articles per month Initial online access costs 99 cents per month Rises to $9.95 per month (or $99.50 per year) -Tencer, Daniel. "Postmedia Paywall: National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Province and Vancouver Sun Enact 'Metered' Paywall System." Huffington Post. -

CASE STUDY: Has the paywall been a success? It’s too early to tell. Unlike the New York Times the Citizen won’t draw and international audience, and it doesn’t have the resources to produce ‘elite’ journalism like the New York Times. However, the Citizen can draw on a large local audience which may make the paywall a success.

Modeled off of New York Times system Metered paywall at $20/month with 10 free articles Full-time print subscribers get free online access, which has increased print subscriptions Successfully hooks consumers with 99-cent, month- long trial

Globe released a performance report in February 2013 – four months after the paywall launch online subscribers (closer to today) No negative impact on advertising market at all, according to VP Andrew Saunders Daily unique visits remained at 4 million a month because consumers have 10 free articles Despite Saunder’s claims, a June 2013 report showed a 40% decrease in online readership

Globe publisher Phillip Crawley said that where paywalls haven’t worked, it’s because “the content is just not good enough” Globe is “worthy of the charge” as it offers unique content, specifically: foreign bureau coverage and insider columns on business and politics People need to feel the content can’t be found elsewhere, or they will consume the free version Globe’s news quality comes from its attempt to target a specific audience

Globe attempting to gain extra revenue by diversifying its products Globe2Go Kindle/Ebook Paper Ebooks/Article Collections Feeds/Newsletters Reprints Art Store

“Paywall partnership” with the New York Times? Globe offering a deal along the lines of a cross-media “package” Option to subscribe to the New York Times is listed on the Globe products page Subscribers of the Globe get a discount on a subscription with the New York Times

PREMIUM CONTENT MODEL PROS READERS CAN STILL ACCESS BREAKING NEWS CONTENT PEOPLE MOST LIKELY TO PAY FOR NEWS THE SAME AS THOSE MOST LIKELY TO READ PREMIUM CONTENT CONS PEOPLE SATISFIED WITH FREE CONTENT AND DON’T WANT PREMIUM CONTENT MUST BE OF EXCELLENT QUALITY IF PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR IT

PREMIUM-CONTENT MODEL EXAMPLE: THE BOSTON GLOBE

CASE STUDY: Header ↑ shows keenness in audience engagement

ACCESSIBLE READING IN GENERAL Content without the icon e.g. Stock portfolio, non-specialized pieces

ACCESSIBLE READING CONT’D IN SPECIFIC CASES Disasters Elections Competitive advantage e.g. NYT shut down

THE NYT SHUT DOWN

WHY PAY? (via the Guardian) The article mentioned WSJ to make the following arguments Size matters Specialized content helps

SPECIALIZED CONTENT…WHO’S THE AUDIENCE? “Meet the Reader” (under audience) The Global Edition (U.S., Asia and Europe) 80% Male Avg. age 51 Earn avg. $245,766/yr

WSJ DIGS (↓Global ed. stats for advertisers)

Subscription # History One of the first U.S. papers to install a paywall (a year after the 1st - Slate) WSJ.com reaches 200,000 online readers 1998 WSJ.com reaches a million online readers 2007

Back in (via Wayback Machine)

When #s compared...

SYSTEM CHALLENGES Creating connection with readers Diversifying content Convincing audience of content value Economic climate – rising costs, few alternatives

Source

OUR MODEL: The Basics Digital subscription divided by sections News $3 City $3 Arts $2 Business $2 Comment $2 Life, Auto, Travel, Technology etc. $2 Each section has its own cost, which would be significantly lower than paying for the whole paper 5+ sections (entire paper) can be purchased for $10 Gives more “bang for your buck” Receive only the content you deem valuable

OUR MODEL: The Specifics Metered paywall – receive standard 10 articles per month before subscription Netflix model Trial month Hassle free monthly payment and renewal Capitalize on local audience City section Free access to obituaries Discounted rate for students

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? What options are available for the news industry to stay viable and maintain its standards at the same time? What determines which sections you read? What makes you click a link? What would entice you to purchase a digital subscription? How do you define quality news content for a section of a local paper? What is the most you would pay for a digital subscription?

Phillip’s Audio, just so we don’t lose it