Jul 17Consumers to Publishers: “Why We Won’t Subscribe”A new research report from Journalism Studies explains in detail why consumers as a whole — and younger audiences in particular — are so unwilling to pay for news when the only option is to subscribe. I still struggle with the idea that anyone could be surprised by this. Until…Publishing4 min readPublishing4 min read
Jun 18The 2023 Reuters Digital News Report Is Out, and Things Aren’t PrettyRecently, the Reuters Institute published its latest Digital News Report for 2023. …News3 min readNews3 min read
May 21Power to the People — did Elon Musk just save the media industry?Elon Musk made headlines when he announced that Twitter would soon enable publishers to charge users for access to individual articles. Commenters seem evenly spread between thinking this was a great idea and thinking that Musk had got it all wrong. I believe that Musk is (again) lightyears ahead of…Media6 min readMedia6 min read
Apr 17Make the User Great AgainIn his 2009 Time article, entitled “How to Save Your Newspaper,” Walter Isaacson famously wrote: In 2009, most content was available on the internet for free, paid for by increasingly intrusive advertising. …Walter Isaacson4 min readWalter Isaacson4 min read
Apr 9Freedom and Choice: How to Strengthen Democracy and Skip the Lunchtime BluesAccess to information has been a right that anyone could afford since everybody was able to buy a newspaper at a newsstand. By putting information behind a subscription paywall, however, that access effectively becomes a privilege — you can access the information if you can afford the subscription. …Subscription4 min readSubscription4 min read
Mar 26Subscription Cannibalization is here. Just not as you think.Let me ask you a question: how many of you jumped onto a new subscription because of a low-price promotion? Take a look at what I came across just in the past week: The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are offering deals of $1.00 …Subscription4 min readSubscription4 min read
Mar 19Subscription Nomads: A WarningThe subscription economy has been on the rise for a while now, but it seems to be facing a new challenge: Subscription Nomads. These are consumers who subscribe to a service, get what they want, and then cancel their subscription and move on to the next service. …Subscription Economy5 min readSubscription Economy5 min read
Mar 12Subscription Fatigue — Why everybody loses (II)You can’t build trust and loyalty by hitting people up with subscriptions. You build trust and loyalty by giving people a choice of how to consume and pay for content. A subscription in its current form is not a choice — it is a condition. It turns an opportunity into…Publishing3 min readPublishing3 min read
Mar 5Subscription Fatigue — Why everybody loses (I)Have you ever been interested in reading an article but were immediately hit with a paywall? You’re not alone. I’ve come to notice a significant problem that many publishers seem to overlook — user centricity. Despite the industry’s claims that their readers are their one true focus, no one ever…Paid Content3 min readPaid Content3 min read
Feb 26The Attention Economy: Why News Publishers Are LosingIn today’s fast-paced digital world, capturing the attention of consumers has become a high-stakes battle for publishers and creators. With countless sources of information vying for our attention, it’s no wonder that traditional news publishers are struggling to keep up. …Publishing4 min readPublishing4 min read
