Another installment in the paid content drama began to unfold today with the first release of a metered model deployed using Press+, the consumer face of Journalism Online. Though the first installation of Press+ is news in and of itself, there’s another aspect of the model that’s unique. Lancaster Online, the publication to roll out the system, chose to meter only a specific section of its content: the obituaries. Starting this morning, those who wish to view more than seven obituaries a month will have to pay. Or die trying.
All Posts Tagged ‘paywall’
I’ve written about paywalls before, and I think they’re a terrible for everyone. And it’s not because I’m an information hippie who thinks that all content should be free. It’s because they reflect a fundamental misunderstanding about how to capture the value of great content, and because the user experience sucks. Really bad.
Gannet just rolled out paywalls at three of their regional papers. I found out because I follow paidContent.org on Pinyadda, which, ironically, is a free publication. After I got through the painful period of disgust/anger/befuddlement/hilarity that ensues when I hear about new paywalls being erected, I went to visit the Tallahassee Democrat, one of the sites sporting the shiny new system. It didn’t go very well.