Will the media’s paid-for-model work?

But will anyone pay for it?

I was interested to see NMA has announced that it will be joining Rupert Murdock, the FT and Emap by experimenting with paid-for models online. In a statement on its site it announced that online access to all magazine content apart from opinion will be paid for only:

“Like all other publishers, we’re experimenting with paid-for models online,” said editor Justin Pearse. “While previously lead stories from the magazine were accessible for free, we’re confident this content, together with the analysis our site provides to the industry, is worth paying for.”

I hope Justin is right and I am sure it is not a decision that the team there have entered into lightly. My biggest concern is when I consider how I consume my information online. More often than not I won’t pay for content as it is quite likely it will also appear somewhere else for free – how will they guarantee that the information they are charging for can only be seen on their site? I also generally feel quite negative towards sites that ask me constantly to login to consume information and will avoid them if possible.

The publication has also said that it will not be charging for news until it is seven days old (who wants to read it then?) and some columns and opinion will remain free which leads me to ask….what would I be paying for?

I understand that we are in a recession and that for magazines to survive they can’t keep giving content away but I am not certain of how such a subscription system will work. Readers of magazines like to read their favourite columnists such as Will or Alex at NMA, but how many NEED to? (sorry chaps). Also, on a slightly different note, one of the key successes of Twitter is the ability to share content. As Alan Burkitt-Gray of GTB said when I interviewed him: “Twitter links that I post are the second biggest producer of visits to the Global Telecoms Business site”. Paying for content prohibits the distribution of content so will they inadvertently reduce the traffic to their website?

I think another valuable point to consider is the FT. I would argue that people pay the subscription for the FT because it publishes financial information valuable to its readers, that can’t be found elsewhere for free, and not because of the editorial. It is also interesting to note that as NMA reported just a few weeks ago, FT subscribers had risen but it still saw revenues fall by 14 per cent year on year over the first nine months of 2009.

My biggest concern for publications that are moving to a subscriber model for online content is - will the amount of traffic you will undoubtedly lose be worth the revenues you generate from charging for content? By limiting the ability for users to share your most interesting articles are you closing the door to new readers?

I don’t have a crystal ball and I don’t know what the answer is but I will be watching how this situation unfolds with great interest over the coming months as I am sure it will ultimately affect everyone in the media and PR industries.

Do your parents know what you do?

Ma and Pa Stallard

Most people who I know that work in the PR industry always laugh that their parents don’t understand what they actually do for a living. In fact my colleague Helen told me a funny story today that her Gran carries the name of her career on a piece of paper in her purse ready so she can get it right.

My brother is a chef by trade and my parents have always found it easier to understand what he does than my chosen career. So, when I saw a recent Response Source for the Daily Express about an article on parents who were enjoying retired life I thought I would pitch my Dad and he would experience first hand how the PR industry works.

Seeing the published article on Saturday I realised that this might not be the case and it also highlighted to me the importance of carefully briefing someone before an interview. I often advise clients to create a short list with a few bullet points of key facts and figures that can help them during the heat of an interview.

So when Dad described me as his publicist son and my brother a year younger than he actually is I realised I maybe should have helped give him a few more pointers. That said, the piece is great and covers the adventures of the Stallard family since he retired. The only thing it didn’t include was the fact that the two of them also went to the Isle of Wight festival (for the fourth year in a row) and their favourite band of the weekend was the Prodigy. Classic.

The piece also showed that if you can get a good human interest story in the national press it can lead to further opportunities. Since the coverage appeared Dad has received a phone call from the BBC who now want to interview him. “Hollywood is our next stop son – watch out” is what he told me this afternoon. Dad, you truly are my hero.

UK Media Step up SEO

Source: www.findandconvert.com

Laura Oliver wrote an interesting article on Journalism.co.uk at the start of the week which is well worth a read. The piece looks at how more and more newspapers are beginning to rethink their search engine optimisation strategies which not only improve the online experience for the user, but also lead to a rise in traffic.

Head of audience development at the Telegraph, Julian Sambles, said the paper’s plans were about empowering staff with “the knowledge and understanding that they need so they can apply it to their daily production process and make informed decisions about content when they’re writing or publishing it.”

This reminded me of the answer Alan Burkitt-Gray gave me when I asked him if he had to change his writing style with SEO in mind?

All professional journalists adjust their writing and editing style for the medium they’re writing for. So I’d write and/or edit differently for a weekly news magazine, a national title, a monthly technology magazine, a bi-monthly business magazine (which is what GTB is, on paper) and the web — in its many different formats. So writing a headline and standfirst for a one-page feature is very different from writing and editing an item that will appear on a website. Of course.

There is no doubt that journalism constantly evolves and it is interesting to see how SEO is fast becoming a major factor when copy is being produced. Ultimately, I personally think it will always be content that drives the popularity of a site, but there is no doubt that SEO is proving a major factor when trying to get those readers for the first time.

Traditional Publishing RIP

As a PR professional who still loves hard copy, I find it incredibly sad to see that Canadian web marketing agency Dialect has created a website called Traditional Publishing RIP. It aggregates headlines documenting the decline in traditional publishing and is billed as ‘an online memorial to the traditional media industry.’

“We love traditional media; nothing will ever rival our enjoyment of books, newspapers, magazines, radio and even (sometimes) television. Regardless, this seems to be the way of the world, and so we offer this site as an ephemeral chronicle of traditional media’s decline.”

Still, not the cheeriest way to spend your time.

5 national newspapers to close?

Source: BP Concepts

Reading a piece written by Lauren Drablier on Editorsweblog reported that Emily Bell at the Guardian has warned that as many as five newspapers in the UK could fold within the next two years.  As a PR professional I always find it sad when a magazine or newspaper closes so I really hope she isn’t right.

Bell warned that the media industry “could face complete market failure in some areas of regional papers and some areas of commercial radio.”   In her opinion, the media is a “systematic collapse not just a cyclical downturn.”

The reason behind Bell’s predictions is her observations of the current newspaper closures in the United States which she fears will come in the UK.  Bell went on to state, “We are on the brink of two years of carnage for western media. In the UK, five nationals could go out of business and we could be left with no UK-owned broadcaster outside of the BBC.”

She also predicts the rise of a more “superstar culture” in which individuals become the driving force behind certain media brands.

Emily, I respect your opinion but genuinely hope you are wrong.