Marc Reeves on Newspaper Payment Walls
We’re quite cognizant that of late we’ve spent a lot of time discussing ‘payment wall‘ models that newspaper publishers are exploring, for their online news properties. And if you are in the industry, you will understand that depending on how this debate plays out for mainstream publishers, the state of the newspaper industry could pivotally change and foster further transformations in consumer news behaviours. So, it is because of this why we’re sharing a video of Marc Reeves, Publisher of the Birmingham Post in the UK, and his take on payment walls.
In this video, Reeves discusses the matter of payment wall models not only in a broad sense, but also as it pertains to niche vertical sites, as he references the Financial Times. His narrative is extremely on point. He echoes our thoughts that generalized news content will be extremely difficult to monetize, but that you may have a chance with a niche product. He also cautions however, that even if you do have a niche online product, your revenue expectations should be minimal, and your efforts should go into maximizing your advertising sales models. He also provides advice for publishers as their roles will undoubtedly change in the coming years.
This Marc Reeves video was taken at an event held by the University of Warwick.
