Blog, week 3; Modes of Publishing

Modes of Publishing:



Modes of publishing have drastically changed over time, with an increase of information shared with, and communicated to, a continually growing public.





ART (cave paintings)

Tablets (Chinese symbols written on Tablets to communicate)

Printing Press (Invented in ----, saw a huge increase in audiences as information could now be published in great numbers, examples include books and newspapers)

Digital (Computer - emails, social networking sites etc, incredibly important because it takes the physicality out of publishing and makes it so much faster, more convenient and simple)

Web 2.0...



Digital vs Print (Top points for each)



Print:

Physical value for money
A more concentrated stream of information on topics and more credible in general
There is more of a personal feel, as many newspapers deal with geographically specific issues and particular demographics.
Easier to navigate around print, with contents etc, whereas digital info can involve a lot of searching and the information only lingers

Digital:Better for the environment in regards to the making of paper

Has the potential to reach a wider range of audiences

News is delivered at a much faster rate

A much cheaper mode of production and cheaper for audiences who can often avoid paying altogether





This week’s readings discuss pay walls for newspapers, which have arisen due to the positive factors of digital media that can be seen above. Pay walls have arisen because of the effect that digital media has had on consumers, and as a result, print based media has had to develop online news in order to compete with the cheaper, faster and wider reach of production and distribution that digital media has to offer. Major newspapers are faced with the tough decision of whether to charge subscribers money for their online news and face a loss of subscriptions, reach and the possibility of being left behind in this digital world, or not charge and lose valuable revenue (Busfield, 2010). Whilst setting up a pay wall is not going to increase popularity with online viewers it is a necessary step that ensures the hardworking journalists remain funded. However within the World Wide Web, it would be extremely difficult to completely firewall news sites that have set up pay walls, and if viewers can’t get onto their first choice sites, they can always go to accepted free of charge sites from renowned news services such as the BBC and Sky News. Articles by Dan Gilmor (2011) and Felix Salmon (2011) illustrate the clever way that the New York Times has managed to both stay in the digital news stakes and maintain revenue. Of course the Times has to set up a pay wall, however it is a much less restricted pay wall than other newspapers have developed, and offers free perks and packages (Salmon, 2011). It is relatively inexpensive and relies on its quality reports and stellar reputation to win over viewers, and, this strategy should be considered by other major news publications as it has worked, with online subscriptions and revenues increasing (Salmon, 2011).




Bibliography:

Busfield, Steve (2010) ‘Guardian editor hits back at paywalls’, The Guardian,January 25, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/25/guardian-editor-paywalls>(The Editor of The Guardian, against paywalls).

Gillmor, Dan (2011) ‘The New York Times paywall: the faint smell of success’, The Guardian, August 3, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/aug/03/new-york-times-paywall> (on The New York Times decision to implement a pay wall in 2011). [note: For what it’s worth I think The New York Times and The Guardian are perhaps the two of the most interesting newspapers to engage with networked publishing]

Salmon, Felix (2011) ‘How The New York Times Paywall is Working’, Wired, August 14, <http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/new-york-times-paywall/>