The new news

I presume I’m not the only reader who grimaces when my eyes fall on the phrase “new media” in a newspaper.

I prefer not to be reminded of the fast approach of the day when I’ll have to rely on a hodgepodge of blog posts, Google searches and tweets to stay up-to-date.

My aversion to the future of the news industry makes me something of a hypocrite.
I rarely pick up a physical paper. When I talk about reading a newspaper, I mean having complete and instant access to the publication online.

The fact that I am fueling the very transformation that I so despise became apparent this past week with the New York Times’ announcement of a new subscriptions plan for its website.

I have set my browser home page to the Times’ web page for nearly a decade.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually splurged and paid for a printed copy of the paper.

I can’t hide my disappointment at the advent of a new era in which the Times, and the other newspapers that will doubtlessly follow its model, will charge $15 to view more than 20 articles per month.

High quality reporting on the news is obviously not free, and I’ll be more than content in the long run if the revenue allows papers to continue reporting. 

We all knew that newspapers would inevitably transition to charging online subscribers for access to content.

Personally, I cannot complain about the timing.

As a teenager in Indiana eager to read nationally and internationally significant news, free access to online newspapers provided a way to become a more educated citizen when I would have been hesitant or unable to pay $180 per year to do so.

Now my hope is that future generations will have the same opportunities to expand their worldview before they can afford to pay market price for the news.

I would propose that newspapers cultivate a dedicated online readership by providing free access to high school students and university undergraduates.

The precise means of verifying students’ identity to prevent abuse would take some work.

But I am confident an investment in an educated future readership would be mutually beneficial to young people and newspapers alike.

True, newspapers brought in new readers in the days before they freely published their content online.

Today, however, it will take some additional effort to convince young people that newspapers offer a uniquely valuable product distinct from the endless supplies of freely available information.

— wallacen@indiana.edu