Newsroom

The Pain All Newspapers Can't Ignore

The news consumption landscape is changing rapidly. Nobody feels this more than the newspaper industry. More print news readers are getting their news online than ever before. Are you torn between giving quality journalism away or charging a fee? Listen to a quote from James Harding of The Times (London):

The Times (London) made a calculated risk in June of 2010 when they put up the paywall. The Times along with a growing number of quality journalism organizations are charging for the core product directly rather than paying for it indirectly through advertising. Stepping out of the box is not easy, but it is worth it.

Good Journalism Costs Money

According to the Newspaper Association of America, traditional newspaper advertising revenues dropped to $22 Billion in 2010, its lowest in 25 years. Advertising is important, but it is not a newspaper's core product. Good journalism, especially local journalism, has value and people will pay for it.

Newspapers charged a subscription to deliver the traditional physical paper, why cut the subscription revenue stream online? Isn't the journalism online just as good (if not better) as the print product? Advertising should be a supporting revenue model, not the primary revenue focus.

Our Solution is Newsroom

How should you setup a paywall for your newspaper website? There are a number of models available. The key is simplicity. Let us help customize a paywall solution that will fit your market.

In 2009, we began a pilot of Newsroom in collaboration with the Jasper Herald Company, a daily newspaper we worked with to make the online transition. In addition to a professional front-end web design, a major focus was placed on the subscription process and usability. We worked with them to develop a transition process for current paying print subscribers. In August 2010, the DuboisCountyHerald.com went live. They continue to grow their online subscription base while regularly selling One Day Passes.

Recurring Payments and Accounting

Newsroom allows subscribers to easily make online payments. Collecting subscription fees has never been easier.

• PayPal WebPayments Pro Integration (credit card authorization, recurring payments, and single purchases)
• Subscriber system to quickly diagnosis and resolve issues. (credit card updates, subscription changes, content access, and more)
• Manage transaction processing (refunds, partial refunds, etc.)