Digest: Good news on paywall

Ivan Zhai

Published: 10:52am, 17 Oct 2012

Why you can trust SCMP

Maybe it is still too early to draw any conclusions on media outlets’ paywall model. But there is some good news which is pleasing the industry. (See #NewNewsroom section below)

In fact, according to a report released by the Newspaper Association of America in August, there is an obvious trend in the media for more newspapers to set up paywall models and some even called last year “The year of paywall”.

The South China Morning Post was among a small group of newspapers which launched their paywall models between late 1990s and early 2000s worldwide. On Monday, we finally adopted the metered model. After registration, every online reader will be offered eight free stories per month.

Will it work? Personally, I think it will, but only after we have more authentic, timely and insightful reports for readers greatly interested in Hong Kong and mainland China.

It’ll be extremely difficult for media outlets to have exclusive information in future since every citizen can be a news source, simply with their mobile phones and social media platforms. But raw information does not always equal good news, which needs to be carefully verified, objectively written, well organised and properly presented to different readers with different news-reading devices, which include print materials, TVs, radios, PCs and tablets.

The "Multi-Screen World" is changing the way people approach information, but not necessarily changing their needs for reliable news.

#NewNewsroom
-- Gannett’s good earnings report could signal a turning point for newspaper organizations | Poynter
-- Investors like New York Times‘ ‘paywall’ progress - paidContent.org
-- Tuesday Q&A: Globe and Mail Publisher Phillip Crawley on the paper’s paywall plans - @NiemanLab

#SocialMedia
-- What news brand has the most pull on Twitter? Finally, some answers - paidContent.org
-- STUDY: Pinterest Tops Facebook In Shopping Engagement - @allfacebook
-- Dark Social: We Have the Whole History of the Web Wrong - The Atlantic

#Tools/Guides/Resources
-- A 53-Installment Content Marketing Course - @copyblogger
-- View Content Strategy Based on ‘Multi-Screen World’ Consumer Research Report - Content Marketing Institute

#DigitalChina
-- Are Chinese more open on microblogs or SNS? - Resonance China
-- Why American Internet companies fail in China - TechNode

#Sparkle
-- Here Are 21 140-Character Novels From Well-Known Writers - Mediabistro.com

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