Hard News: Behind the Paywall
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It seems worth noting that Black's column has not been widely quoted – or at all – because you won't be able to read it online until Saturday, a couple of weeks after its publication.
Not because she's an asinine writer bereft of interesting or original ideas, then? Whereas I'll always read Mitchell, even when I disagree with him. I love what Stephen Fry has called (if memory serves) his angry logic.
I also remain puzzled by the idea that you would pay for content on your iPad that you'd get for free on your regular computer, but clearly there's so much of the Apple experience I just don't get.
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North & South's app –currently in iTunes Store approval limbo
If Jobs has added "bigoted right-wing drivel" to his banned list I may even buy an iPad
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I also remain puzzled by the idea that you would pay for content on your iPad that you'd get for free on your regular computer, but clearly there's so much of the Apple experience I just don't get.
It's not the Apple experience as such -- it's getting a premium product, with proper page design and typography. I don't think I'd pay to read the New Yorker online, but but I'd pay for an iPad app that decently replicated the print version I pay for now.
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3410,
Gotta say, the phrase "Hard News: Behind the Paywall" was momentarily rather worrying.
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North & South's app –currently in iTunes Store approval limbo
If Jobs has added "bigoted right-wing drivel" to his banned list I may even buy an iPad
I suspect you haven't picked up a North & South for a while (ie: since Robyn Langwell was editor). It's actually been bloody good this year. The cover story on Aspergers was superb.
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I don't think I'd pay to read the New Yorker online, but but I'd pay for an iPad app that decently replicated the print version I pay for now.
I used to subscribe to an Italian newspaper that did that and longed mightily for the newspaper content in a proper Web layout, I must say - I found the whole thing ludicrous. It was a while ago, but more recently I have been unimpressed by the New York Times Reader on a Netbook. Plus there are templates that do that kind of work for free - and you still can link to stuff.
(Imagine I have carefully laid out the above comment on a solid foundation of "to each their own", however.)
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Having free access to an online paper the day after it comes out wouldn't be too much of a problem for me, in fact often it allows some breathing space from the immediacy of the blogs.
It must hurt Murdoch that his flagship paper isn't framing the news nearly as much as I'm sure he would prefer... -
(Imagine I have carefully laid out the above comment on a solid foundation of "to each their own", however.)
Of course. I would point out that the comics press seems to have warmly embraced the Marvel Comics app on the iPad. I think graphic media are going to work really well on this device.
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3410,
I'll be buying an iPad on Friday (also my birthday!) and I'm looking forward to it.
So, what are you doing with your old one?
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I would point out that the comics press seems to have warmly embraced the Marvel Comics app on the iPad. I think graphic media are going to work really well on this device.
I can see how comics would work quite well. And frankly I'm still waiting for other forms of born-digital graphic art to flourish on the Web.
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who says that web advertising doesn't reach a world wide web audience - just this morning on a spoof California political site the google served ad on the bottom right showed up with an Elections NZ ad reminding me to register for the upcoming local elections (now all I get when I look at it again are gay dating sites) - it was superbly targeted (politics, NZ) but also strangely out of place in the middle of somewhere that's largely spoof
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Whoops! wrong thread
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You've got to wonder who's giving Murdoch IT advice. He bought myspace, twiddled around with it and it's basically became a ghost town since Arsebook came along.
Then he decides to get into charging for on-line viewing, presumably on the advice from the same IT rocket scientists. You'd think they'd have learnt something from myspace's fall from popularity, but clearly not.Russell, good to see you calling Joanne Black on her inane column. She seemed to delight in taking a cheap shot at unions in the same column too, but that's what you expect from someone married to one of John Key's flunkies, I suppose. She is the Listener's Kerre Woodham. Brrrrr.
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I must say, I would regard developing content for a Listener app as a dream gig. But they'd have to pay me to say more than that.
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People still read the Listener?
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I must say, I would regard developing content for a Listener app as a dream gig. .
Clearly the Listener content would be pretty useless for it.
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I used to flick through the Times online 2 or 3 of times a week - now I can't, but I'm not that worried. I can still read the other English dailies I like.
I don't want to pay, I usually go to these sites for specific articles or writers, not the whole paper. I can't see how Murdoch can keep this going.
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Hi Russell
Interested in your comment about how the NBR's subscriber service appears to be working. Do you have any data about this? Personally I have been underwhelmed with the content (aside from Chris Keall's contributions), and am struggling to justify it.
Cheers. -
anth,
Some people who are more inclined to see conspiracies are claiming that the Times paywall is designed to drive people away in order to provide evidence to lobby for a law preventing the BBC offering news on the web for free.
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Also, you know who's doing really well out of the existing ad-funded model? The Daily Mail. I can see why. The content may be trite and offensive; the site's well sticky.
Heh, I'm pleased you mentioned this. To my shame I found myself going back again and again to the Mail coverage during the World Cup. Naturally, for the post-England hysteria, as always, but they far and away had the best quality collection of images for all the big matches, and they were available very quickly after the games. They really are doing some quality work there.
I presume it's because Mail readers want to look at famous people in their underwear and swimming togs that they've gone the extra mile but it works really well for sports coverage too.
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Clearly the Listener content would be pretty useless for it.
Are you trying to say you wouldn't like a beautifully presented application in which to read Karl Du Fresne's and Deborah Hill Cone's musings? Come on..
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People still read the Listener?
Even if I liked its change in editorial direction, its not online, and so dead to me.
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I suspect you haven't picked up a North & South for a while (ie: since Robyn Langwell was editor). It's actually been bloody good this year.
I agree. The article about vaccination, in the June issue, was very good too.
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Even if I liked its change in editorial direction, its not online, and so dead to me.
That's kind of depressing. When it was good I was happy to pay for it. Similarly when I'm in Italy I buy La Repubblica, which is an excellent newspaper and is not online. Just demanding that things be online seems a little extreme.
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The following reply is from earlier on but the internet ate it at the time:
I also remain puzzled by the idea that you would pay for content on your iPad that you'd get for free on your regular computer, but clearly there's so much of the Apple experience I just don't get.
I have to say reading from the iPad in bed on the weekend has got me interested in the newspaper format again. And while I use the free NYT app, I'd happily pay a couple of bucks each time for more. The most annoying thing is not being able to do the Stuff quiz (due to teh Flash), so not bad at all.
I hadn't seen the Times (London) paywall before. I can't believe everything is behind it. After a long and, at times, heated argument one night we came to a conclusion that we would never pay for news (facts basically), but that for skilled research, background and analysis we would pay.
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