Topic: As of Jan 7th, No More Free Charleston Papers On-Line

[Herdmeister]

There will be a $5.99 per month charge for EACH of the Charleston newspapers starting Jan 7th. If you are a regualr 7 day per week subscriber to the print paper, then the digital site is free.

       
http://www.dailymail.com/News/201212090018

The Herald-Dispatch won't be far behind.



     

[Slice11]

Guess who won't be reading newspaper's online anymore.

This guy.

[The E-Man]

There will be a $5.99 per month charge for EACH of the Charleston newspapers starting Jan 7th. If you are a regualr 7 day per week subscriber to the print paper, then the digital site is free.

        
http://www.dailymail.com/News/201212090018

The Herald-Dispatch won't be far behind.

Welcome to the world of technology.

[luvherd]

The kiss of death. Stupid.

[Booherd]

 these guys are idiots to think I will now pay for something I had for free.  There are many free outlets for news, it's a last gasp for a dying industry.

[ZackUSAF82]

I feel bad for Redd and McGill...this is going to kill their online hits big time.  We'll see how long it lasts.

[Herdmeister]

Welcomed to the world of technology.

Ylu're right E-Man. We all knew it was just a matter of time and with good reason. The newspaper has to pay a staff to get the stories plus all the overhead of a building, taxes, benefits etc. The subscriptions of newspapers have gone down big time. So much so that advertising has not been able to pay the bills.

Although I won't be happy about it. I will be one paying. I have no other way to get the news. I work all over the country and this is the only outlet I have to the area.

[HERDFAN1999]

Guess who won't be reading newspaper's online anymore.

This guy.

Me, too.  It isn't like it is great reading anymore.  Most of the time what they are reporting is old news anyway.

Here is a thought for their business model, how about having excellent quality in what you are putting out?  Make people come to your sites and make them want to come back.  They've kept the same model for their papers they've had since the 50s and can't understand why the revenue stream isn't there.  Well....duh.

What they need is a massive business model/product change.

[andy31]

I hate to hear this.  I understand the necessity of it, but I always thought McGill and now Redd provide the best Marshall coverage.  As a student I just can't justify forking over unnecessary money to read 2 articles a day.

[Herdmeister]

Looks like Herdzone will be about the only free Herd news outlet. Good to have Jack Bogaczyk on board to keep us informed.

[The E-Man]

Ylu're right E-Man. We all knew it was just a matter of time and with good reason. The newspaper has to pay a staff to get the stories plus all the overhead of a building, taxes, benefits etc. The subscriptions of newspapers have gone down big time. So much so that advertising has not been able to pay the bills.

Although I won't be happy about it. I will be one paying. I have no other way to get the news. I work all over the country and this is the only outlet I have to the area.

Newspapers across the country are shutting down services, because of declining newspaper sales. I really enjoyed reading a newspaper as opposed to reading it online. It's definitely a changing world that's for sure...

[Johnnyherd]

Does that mean no more long loading ads and spyware?  My former employer stopped access to them because of the spyware they use.

[backontrack]

As someone who has abslolutely NO interest in any Charleston news I'll say a sad "goodbye" to the BEST MU coverage by Smock/Redd...and hope the H-D doesn't follow suit anytime soon...

[Herdmeister]

As someone who has abslolutely NO interest in any Charleston news I'll say a sad "goodbye" to the BEST MU coverage by Smock/Redd...and hope the H-D doesn't follow suit anytime soon...

You KNOW that the H-D will be doing the same thing soon.

[mr_ash_1995]

Newspapers across the country are shutting down services, because of declining newspaper sales. I really enjoyed reading a newspaper as opposed to reading it online. It's definitely a changing world that's for sure...

It isn't just newspapers...magazines will follow.  Already seeing information on magazines trying to get me to use their electronic product.  Definitely will take some time for me to go fully digital.

[Johnnyherd]

So if you sell advertising do you want to say:

577,000 different viewers/homes accessed our website in 19 states

or

We have 36,333 paid subscriber's in a 100 mile area.....

[luvherd]

IMO, this will open up a business model for someone that will report for free and allow ads. Maybe less quality but the message will get across. Also with Social Media some will post the relevent news.

[kjh]

You KNOW that the H-D will be doing the same thing soon.

l won't pay to read a rag that is always pro WVU. I get tired of all the backrubs Dingle and Hickman give the who. I feel for SMOCK, McGill & Redd. Maybe it is time to get out of Dodge. Think of the effect this will have on the Journalism department at MU.

[svherd]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is in big trouble. Newsweek shutting down its publishing side. I am surprised the HD is still around.

[lexkyherdfan]

They will lose my Clicks that's for sure. It isn't worth it to me to pay for one or two articles a day. I can't see the value in paying for three or four newspaper online accts to read a lot of the same articles. If you notice articles especially in football tend to be the same theme each day as a position is available to the media.  I quit reading a lot of the articles this past fall. It will be I interesting to see how advertisers choose to spend their dollars. There will be a large decrease in readers.  I am sure some will pay but for me personally it would be a waste of money as I only read Marshall articles.

[HERDFAN1999]

The print media companies just haven't adjusted to the online age.  It is just like health care 20 years ago.  They went through a quantum shift from inpatient to outpatient care.  If the print media companies want to be around 10 years from now they better get their heads out of their rear ends. 

[herdman]

IMO, this will open up a business model for someone that will report for free and allow ads. Maybe less quality but the message will get across. Also with Social Media some will post the relevent news.

Google built their empire on that model.

[herds]

will the blogs still be free?

[HerdnClt]

Their loss. I will save my valuable time in the morning not having to view these WVU papers.

[wasbarryb]

U S  A Today tried a similar pay for content plan a few years ago. It didn't last very long before they went back to free access.