Newspapers and publishers should exit the distribution business

Before digital, newspapers were in two businesses:  content creation (news) and distribution (paper).

Maybe now would be a good time to consider exiting the distribution business.

This would have been impossible to imagine in print.  But in digital, it’s pretty simple.

The current model is something like this:  write a bunch of stories, put them on [...]

March 9th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Newspaper, Paid Content, Publishers | Leave a comment

Time Inc Buys StyleFeeder, Gives Away Objectivity?

Time Inc. will start making more money from its online properties like InStyle.com by taking a cut of transactions that happen on StyleFeeder (above), which they are buying for “well in to eight figures” (as in $xx,ooo,ooo) according to today’s Wall Street Journal.

StyleFeeder is an online “personal shopping” site that helps tailor the [...]

January 19th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Newspaper, No Such Thing As Free, Paid Content | Leave a comment

Paywatch ($$$$): GQ – $2.99 and It’s Yours on an iPhone/iTouch

Just when I thought the iPhone/iTouch might be a bit wee for magazines to use as their interim un-walled tablet (as opposed to Kindle, etc.), I’m reminded that hot babes nearly nude, especially famous ones, sell. On just about any-size screen.

So, 4 $$$$s to Conde Nast for naming a price and [...]

December 18th, 2009 | Tags: , , | Category: Magazine, Paid Content, Paywatch | Leave a comment

Paywatch ($): BBC – Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

The full story from today’s UK Guardian (above) is here.?? Bottom line: Mr. Smith runs the commercial arm of the BBC (not the public one) and, basically, said out loud he supports Murdoch’s plans to charge for content.

This means something coming from anyone whose biz card reads BBC, commercial or otherwise, since the [...]

December 18th, 2009 | Tags: , , | Category: Paid Content, Paywatch | Leave a comment

Paywatch ($$$$): News Corp — Murdoch Making Good On Promise To Charge

News Corp and Sony hugged today. Very shortly, after you buy Sony’s e-reader for $399, you can pay some more ($14.99/month) to get the WSJ on it, some more ($5.00/month) to get a little extra at day’s end (WSJ PLUS), some more ($10.99/month) for MarketWatch, and some more ($9.99/month) to get the NY [...]

December 17th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Paid Content, Paywatch, Tablet | Leave a comment

You’ll Pay for This! (Hopefully.) Welcome to Paywatch

(Baywatch, above.? Not Paywatch, but close)

By now you know I don’t believe in free.? I think it’s ridiculous and unsustainable that so much great content is available for nothing online.? If it costs money to create something, people need to pay to get it.? Otherwise, it must go away.

We don’t live [...]

December 11th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Magazine, No Such Thing As Free, Paid Content, Paywatch | One comment