Pay For News?
12/21/2009 07:42 PM
Today, our local newspaper, The Record, announced it
would begin charging for on-line access.
There was quite a stir on Twitter after the announcement. Some on the local Twitter scene thought that this would spell the end for the Record. And it seems as if some would be happy to see the Record fail.
I’m going to go out on a limb and, much to the chagrin of some of my friends, agree with the decision to start charging. While I recognize that this presents a unique opportunity for bloggers, podcasters and other media junkies to share their work I think we need to help local newspapers survive. Local blogger, Bill Ries-Knight said it best today:
The “news” may be free, but the reporting of it shouldn’t be. Like a retail transaction, value should be traded for value. I am happy to pay for the talents of the people that work at the Record.
This does seem like a slippery slope. Hopefully the Record understands the potential impact of charging for online content. Of course, this could go terribly wrong. Subscribers could run for the hills and the Record could be left with fewer eyeballs to attract fewer advertisers with tightening budgets. But then again, it could turn out just fine.
Is there room in this community for the likes of Reclaiming the Title, RodsRants, Brewery33 and Podcast Stockton? Absolutely! And we need more voices. We also need newspapers, radio and TV stations... with the resources to help us tell the stories. As I strive to become more involved with telling the stories of Stockton I hope organizations like the Record will continue to be here. We need Michael Fitzgerald, Daniel Thigpen, Christian Burkin, David Siders, Tara Cuslidge and Ian Hill.
Is it absurd?
Well, perhaps to some it is. I remember when I was a child and the concept of paying for a bottle of water was absurd. As of a few years ago, Americans were spending $15 Billion a year on bottled water. Don’t judge me for giving $40 a year to the Record.
There was quite a stir on Twitter after the announcement. Some on the local Twitter scene thought that this would spell the end for the Record. And it seems as if some would be happy to see the Record fail.
I’m going to go out on a limb and, much to the chagrin of some of my friends, agree with the decision to start charging. While I recognize that this presents a unique opportunity for bloggers, podcasters and other media junkies to share their work I think we need to help local newspapers survive. Local blogger, Bill Ries-Knight said it best today:
In September, I sat down with Michael Fitzgerald, metro columnist for the Record and, of course, the subject of blogging and the internet came up. He made a compelling case why a community needs a professional news organization. He spoke about a local blogger named Chocolate who anonymously blogged about issues related to Stockton Unified School District. Chocolate turned out to be the former principle of Stagg High School.“I'm just sayin... Who will be the gatherer of news if the Local Newspaper is gone? Who'll be there @ 2am when the bullets have been flying?” - @Steelhoof
“She’s concealing the fact that she’s a disgruntled ex-employee. Now, some of her information was accurate and some of her opinions are valid... but wouldn’t you like to know that this person has an axe to grind... Finally, the newsroom is full of trained, talented, seasoned professionals. They filter out a lot of BS. The internet just puts it out there.” - Michael Fitzgerald
The “news” may be free, but the reporting of it shouldn’t be. Like a retail transaction, value should be traded for value. I am happy to pay for the talents of the people that work at the Record.
This does seem like a slippery slope. Hopefully the Record understands the potential impact of charging for online content. Of course, this could go terribly wrong. Subscribers could run for the hills and the Record could be left with fewer eyeballs to attract fewer advertisers with tightening budgets. But then again, it could turn out just fine.
Is there room in this community for the likes of Reclaiming the Title, RodsRants, Brewery33 and Podcast Stockton? Absolutely! And we need more voices. We also need newspapers, radio and TV stations... with the resources to help us tell the stories. As I strive to become more involved with telling the stories of Stockton I hope organizations like the Record will continue to be here. We need Michael Fitzgerald, Daniel Thigpen, Christian Burkin, David Siders, Tara Cuslidge and Ian Hill.
Will I pay for online Recordnet access? Yes.“... do you seriously think that many people will pay for online paper? Especially enough to save a sinking ship...” - @BREWERY33
Is it absurd?
Well, perhaps to some it is. I remember when I was a child and the concept of paying for a bottle of water was absurd. As of a few years ago, Americans were spending $15 Billion a year on bottled water. Don’t judge me for giving $40 a year to the Record.
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Stir Up Stockon
09/27/2009 10:21 PM
Andy continues to fan the fire
he started last week. And it
appears that his plan to #stir things up is gaining
momentum. Local blogger, SlickDiaz, wrote a well
thought out piece on his blog, Reclaiming the
Title. Rod has not been silent on the
matter, either. On Friday, Ian added his voice to the mix. What we
have here is a handful of passionate
Stocktonians, wanting to increase communication
throughout our communities. How cool is that?
Seriously. That is cool!
The What
We have an opportunity to increase communication between city departments, elected officials and the people of Stockton. I don’t know if we’ve been at this point before. I don’t know if we are here now because of technology or because people are just becoming more energized. It is likely both. The web, with current services like Twitter and Facebook, give us the ability to interact with friends and family. It can also give us the ability to interact with our local government.
While I agree that most people don’t trust their elected officials, I do not believe that you need to trust someone to interact with them online. We need an easier way for citizens to get up-to-date information from local government and for these citizens to have tools with which to communicate with the city. Not everyone can (or wants to) attend city council meetings. Writing a letter, and even sending an e-mail, can be arduous. Using Facebook and Twitter is a simpler way.
The Who
As it relates to social media consumption, I see three populations in Stockton. Andy, Slick, Rod, Ian and I are in one group - the “veterans”, for lack of a better term. In another group are those that have no access to a computer and may not own a cell phone. The third group is the one I will refer to as the “fringe”. This is the population that may already use the web to get news and may have even visited our city’s website (provided that they remember what the URL is). They may have delved into social media but only to have fun with their friends or keep tabs on their favorite American Idol contestant/judge/host.
The size of the fringe is not insignificant. I would argue that it is the biggest of the three groups. This is the group on which we should be focusing our energy.
We mustn’t forget about that second part of the population: those on the other side of the digital divide. We still need traditional communication channels for this group. We need the smart people in our community to come up with better ways to get this population engaged.
The How
We need to reach the fringe. Not to sell them on Twitter or Facebook. Rather, we need to have an open dialog about new ways to communicate with the City. It is our job, as members of the veteran group, to help spread the word to the fringe.
We need to hold social-media town halls. Although I am very much a fan of meet-ups (can’t wait for our first Tweetup!), getting a bunch of veterans together won’t do much to get new participants involved. We can hold how-to sessions at local libraries. We can also do what we’re doing now, talk to our friends, family and neighbors. We can keep stirring it up.
In order to realize any success in this regard, the City of Stockton must officially jump into the mix. They need to start small and identify what departments are best suited for this new medium. The city cannot wait for “enough people” to be in the channel before ramping up their efforts.
To help the city along, the Record must dedicate some space to educating the community about social media. The Record’s managing editor, Dan Blount blogged a simple post recently. Writing about social networking sites, Mr. Blount added, “As the world expands, it continues to contract through the use of these media.” We need more than a quick blog entry. The Record has the power to get in front of a lot eyeballs. This cause could benefit from that power.
The Question
What else can we do to increase and improve communication amongst the city and its citizens? What ideas do you have? Leave a comment or send an e-mail to matt-at-mattbeckwith.com.
At the end of the day, Twitter and Facebook are awesome tools to start a conversation. We need more conversations in this city and we need more people in the conversation.
The What
We have an opportunity to increase communication between city departments, elected officials and the people of Stockton. I don’t know if we’ve been at this point before. I don’t know if we are here now because of technology or because people are just becoming more energized. It is likely both. The web, with current services like Twitter and Facebook, give us the ability to interact with friends and family. It can also give us the ability to interact with our local government.
While I agree that most people don’t trust their elected officials, I do not believe that you need to trust someone to interact with them online. We need an easier way for citizens to get up-to-date information from local government and for these citizens to have tools with which to communicate with the city. Not everyone can (or wants to) attend city council meetings. Writing a letter, and even sending an e-mail, can be arduous. Using Facebook and Twitter is a simpler way.
The Who
As it relates to social media consumption, I see three populations in Stockton. Andy, Slick, Rod, Ian and I are in one group - the “veterans”, for lack of a better term. In another group are those that have no access to a computer and may not own a cell phone. The third group is the one I will refer to as the “fringe”. This is the population that may already use the web to get news and may have even visited our city’s website (provided that they remember what the URL is). They may have delved into social media but only to have fun with their friends or keep tabs on their favorite American Idol contestant/judge/host.
The size of the fringe is not insignificant. I would argue that it is the biggest of the three groups. This is the group on which we should be focusing our energy.
We mustn’t forget about that second part of the population: those on the other side of the digital divide. We still need traditional communication channels for this group. We need the smart people in our community to come up with better ways to get this population engaged.
The How
We need to reach the fringe. Not to sell them on Twitter or Facebook. Rather, we need to have an open dialog about new ways to communicate with the City. It is our job, as members of the veteran group, to help spread the word to the fringe.
We need to hold social-media town halls. Although I am very much a fan of meet-ups (can’t wait for our first Tweetup!), getting a bunch of veterans together won’t do much to get new participants involved. We can hold how-to sessions at local libraries. We can also do what we’re doing now, talk to our friends, family and neighbors. We can keep stirring it up.
In order to realize any success in this regard, the City of Stockton must officially jump into the mix. They need to start small and identify what departments are best suited for this new medium. The city cannot wait for “enough people” to be in the channel before ramping up their efforts.
To help the city along, the Record must dedicate some space to educating the community about social media. The Record’s managing editor, Dan Blount blogged a simple post recently. Writing about social networking sites, Mr. Blount added, “As the world expands, it continues to contract through the use of these media.” We need more than a quick blog entry. The Record has the power to get in front of a lot eyeballs. This cause could benefit from that power.
The Question
What else can we do to increase and improve communication amongst the city and its citizens? What ideas do you have? Leave a comment or send an e-mail to matt-at-mattbeckwith.com.
At the end of the day, Twitter and Facebook are awesome tools to start a conversation. We need more conversations in this city and we need more people in the conversation.