As the newspaper industry struggles to survive amid a struggling economy and against technology that outdates it, there has been more and more whisperings of charging readers for online content.
Google is already working on a system that will allow you to purchase what articles you’d like to read.
And Rupert Murdoch plans to charge for all his news websites.
But would you pay to read content online?
Many frugal folks (present company included) get a lot of their information from the internet or by stopping by their local libraries. Having to pay for online news stories may make them less likely to read those stories.
As a former journalist, I wonder what this will do to journalism. Will more people to turn to blogs for their news? And what will that do to the state of journalism? Who will we trust?
I love newspapers. I love flipping through the pages, reading whatever catches my eye. I like clipping coupons, and scanning the circulars. We subscribe to four different newspapers in our house, and I feel they add value to our lives.
And while I adore the internet and see it as a fabulous tool to save money, I don’t know that I would be as willing to pay for content online. When you buy a newspaper, you can save it forever if you want. But an online newspaper is constantly changing. What is posted today may be gone tomorrow. I also wonder about the value for the money. Would an online subscription get me unlimited access, or only a tiny amount of information?
What do you think? Would you pay to read news online?
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