The Rise Of The Paywall
Over the past few years, many newspapers and magazines have hidden their on-line content behind paywalls. This is due primarily to shrinking sales of the printed version. While people do still buy newspapers and magazines as well as books, many believe it makes little sense to buy something you can get for free. And, although virtual content is limited in that it requires an Internet connection - even to save to disk and read later - more can be packed onto the virtual page including arrays of colour photographs and even short video reports.
In January this year, the Daily Mail had an estimated circulation of 687,063. Five years ago it had a circulation of over 1.1 million. Fifteen years ago, it had a circulation of over 2 million.
The Daily Express has a circulation of just over 320,000. Its peak circulation was 1961 when it had a staggering readership of over 4.3 million. At that time it was a broadsheet, and had the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the world. Now, it is a shadow of its former self. The Daily Mail though is thriving in spite of its diminished print circulation; it is a truly international publication thanks to its website. And advertising.
Diminished sales of printed newspapers have led to much smaller advertising revenues. This has hit local newspapers especially. According to the UK publication Press Gazette in August last year, at least 293 local newspapers have closed since 2005, twenty-two of them in the past two years.
Paywalls operate in different fashion, and are in flux. Staying with newspapers and in no particular order, visitors to the homepage of The Sun will see the message below.
Rejecting personalised advertisements will cost the reader £4.99 per month. Personalised advertisements are a story in themselves. You have probably noticed that if you search for a new suit or pair of shoes on say Amazon, advertisements for them will appear like magic on your Facebook page.
The Times requires readers to log in; a basic subscription is £1 for 3 months while full access is £19.50 introductory offer for 3 months with a hefty increase after that.
The Bradford newspaper Telegraph & Argus does not operate a paywall but does invite readers to subscribe, the benefits of which include 80% fewer (annoying) advertisements, newsletters, alerts, and access to the daily digital edition.
Across The Pond, The New York Times introduced a paywall in 2011 when it allowed visitors to read 20 articles per month. Now, visitors can read one, or part of one article before being asked to subscribe.
The use of paywalls will probably increase, but there are many ways around them. The best legal way is to use NewsBank; in the UK you can access this through your local library (at home). Some libraries offer a stripped down version, others the full version. Then there are paywall removers. Best say no more about them here.
And for those with the power to do it, here is a related suggestion concerning the funding of on-line publications and a positive alternative to copyright.