NDM: the effect of online technology on newspapers

NDM: the effect of online technology on newspapers

Based on the handout you've read (Newspapers: The effect of online technology) and the links provided, answer these questions on your blog with detailed, in-depth paragraphs. Remember, critical autonomy means forming your own opinions on these issues.

1) Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online? Why?

From an institutional aspect, I do agree with James Murdoch that the BBC shouldn't be allowed to provide free news online as this paves the way for consumers to become more accustom to receiving free content. As the BBC is a well established brand, this would make it harder for other institutions to put up a paywall as consumers may feel that there is no need to pay for their stories due to the BBC having free content. However, I do believe that every consumer should have access to the news to know what is going on in the world as people in a lower class may not be able to pay for news subscriptions and therefore miss out on being able to receive news stories if a paywall was put up. All in all, I think that this depends on which perspective it is coming from, from a institution perspective I believe that there should be a paywall as this would then mean that consumers would be more willing to pay for online content rather than going to different free sources where they may be given fake news. However, from a consumer perspective I believe that the BBC having free news online is good as they are able to access the news regardless of status. 
2) Read this blog on the Times paywall three years on (note this is the UK Times - not the New York Times!)
3) Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sunday Times) behind a paywall?

Rupert Murdoch was right in some aspect to put his news content behind a paywall but there is a downfall also. The advantages that he has received is:

• The Times and The Sunday Times have now amassed a total of 140,000 paying digital subscribers, "mainly on the tablet". 
• Now have more paying customers than they did on 2 July 2010, which is regarded by News UK executives as the true marker of success.
• The Times titles added 13,000 new subscribers in the first half of 2013, implying a monthly acquisition rate of 2,100. 
• To go from zero to 140,000 digital customers is a significant achievement.
• The company now has lifetime value and renewable revenue attached to its digital customers where previously it had none.

However, the downfalls of this is: 

• Conversely, Times Newspapers Ltd lost £28.7 million for the year to July 1, on turnover of £361 million.
• 20 jobs are to go from the Times.  
• For several years now, Times Newspapers has been losing money. The company has been using profits from elsewhere in News Corp to pay for the papers.
• The digital subscription model is not a solution to those existential problems.
• Many people are enticed into signing up thanks to the generous freebies and not for the content that they provide. 

All in all, I think that even though there are multiple disadvantages that Rupert Murdoch and News Corp has faced, the use of paid subscriptions will contribute slightly into fixing those which is better than not having any revenue at all coming in from their news papers. 

4) Choose two comments from below the Times paywall article - one that argues in favour of the paywall and one that argues against. Copy a quote from each and explain which YOU agree with and why.

For: 


I agree with this statement as if the Times is receiving more money from a paywall compared to advertising, they should continue using the paywall as they are benefitting from it. The increase in revenue that they are receiving would be more beneficial to the company. 




Against: 




I agree with this as the Times doesn't have anything particularly unique in terms of news stories that other news sources don't have. There are still almost the same amount of news coverage and content that is accessible on different news sites.



5) Read this article from the Media Briefing on the continuing decline of the newspaper industry. 
6) Why do you think the Evening Standard has bucked the trend and increased circulation and profit in the last two years?

I think that the Evening Standard has bucked the trend and increased circulation and profit in the last two years as the more copies that are provided, the more people are still able to read the newspaper. E.g, the 700,000 copies in newspapers during the day maybe be taken or damaged leaving there to be none for potential consumers, however, by increasing the copies to 900,000, more consumers are able to get access to the Evening Standard and therefore they are able to get more readership from potential customers and in effect make more profit. 


7) Is there any hope for the newspaper industry or will it eventually die out? Provide a detailed response to this question explaining and justifying your opinion.

Even though I think that the newspaper industry will eventually die out, there may be some hope. This is due to the increase of users on new digital media. This is a positive but could also be a negative as there will be more fake news circulated and made which could potentially make users come to the realisation that online and social media is not a reputable source to obtain news. This may lead to consumers paying subscriptions or purchasing print newspapers in order to receive a reputable and reliable news story and in turn could potentially save the newspaper industry. Also, if newspapers acclimatise to the change in digital technology, there may be some hope. However, due to the increase in citizen journalism, it may make it hard for newspapers as this would mean that consumers would be able to access news stories on sources like social media and they may be deemed as reliable due to their being proof of what is happening. This would therefore lead to the newspaper industry dying out.