Comments on: Pittsburgh: Post Gazette & PG+, you’re doing it wrong!

By: Dawn Papuga

Dawn Papuga — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:10:16 +0000

You know... I hadn't really considered this to be a problem until you mentioned the oportunity for special coupons. I agree that there are at least 20 bloggers who are NOT writing for the PG+ that I would (and do) rather read than folks being forced to transition to a writing style they are unfamiliar with. That you are a journalist does not mean that you are a Blogger (or a good one at that), and vice versa. That they are asking me/us to pay for content that is opinion based, and free among those who already traffic in the creation and dissemination of such content, is actually a bit insulting. To top it off, they offer coupons. Coupons, my friends. You are paying $36 a year to get coupons that you will likely never use (do those savings even equate to the $36 fee?).

The crux of social media is the interaction between the audience and the creator. The PG+ model implies that there is some worthwhile division between the two, and that someone has decided that those who exist to be interacted with behind the closed gates of Subscription fees are somehow more worthy, correct, or privelidged than those who create out among the masses anyway.

I am not opposed to subscriptions for content -- The Economist has been using this model for years, and quite effectively, I might add. I have a problem with the approach and content they put behind that high wall. Someone there just doesn't understand their audience, the social media audience, and (apparently) why their model is going to continue struggling for life.

Put exclusive articles behind the wall. Put interview material behind the wall. Put extensive research on issues and controversies behind the wall... but don't close the gate to try and put a division between the individuals in a community where interaction and contribution is key. If you want community interaction a community has to develop a hierarchy on its own, not one based on who gets to comment because of a PayPal account.

Blogs are opinion, and unfortunately, I'll make my own decisions about whose content I value enough to spend money on... and I'll buy the writer a coffee or a drink in person.

By: marshal sandler

marshal sandler — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:24:49 +0000

Jami's point is well take In Michigan Where I live the reporters can't even Rag A line or create a decent Deck-Content is Murder Kidnapping and the Adventures of Pick Pocket Politicians-I am 73 years old and was raised on the Old Media-but have not subscribed to a news paper in 5 years-Once in a when I read one in a coffee shop if some one leaves it on a table-About twice a year I treat myself and buy the Atlantic Monthly-I can Read Andy Chris Brogan Steve Rubel Shel Israel and more at No Charge why would I buy a Blog from an untested Source !

By: Justin Kownacki

Justin Kownacki — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:46:05 +0000

Alas, I think they have it backwards.

While it's likely that the PG+'s paid blogs will find a close-knit commenting community -- since everyone who can access them will have paid to do so (and that number is smaller than those who'll read the news for free) -- a cozy community won't be fiscally rewarding enough keep a potentially pricey secondary offering like this afloat. Plus, if anything the bloggers say is of actual value, their readers will find a way to redistribute that content online for free on their own blogs, thus eroding the walled garden.

A more cost-effective (and technologically reasonable) approach might be to cease distribution of the physical daily newspaper, keep the ad-supported web version free, and bundle the analysis and insight of their expert journalists into a weekly newspaper that charges like a magazine. That way the "prime" content would still be paid for, the people who cling to the physical distribution method would have something to hold, and the rest of us could retransmit their wisodm electronically.

I do give the PG credit for experimenting with new revenue streams. I'm just not sure that this particular approach will be effective or relevant. We shall see.

By: Jami

Jami — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:51:53 +0000

Nice post, and I agree completely. I'd also like to point out that I would be a subscriber of the Post Gazette if every time I read it, there weren't typos and grammar errors on the front page, in headlines, not to mention in the rest of the content. And the local stories aren't particularly well-written.

I might be more inclined to purchase the blog access if I thought the content would be interesting and edited for typos and grammar errors.