FREE/Long Tail

Ex-NYT exec: Newpapers’ “mass delusion” about paid content

Nytimes.com general manager Vivian Schiller, now at NPR, tells Newsweek that “news is a commodity”: “I am a staunch believer that people will not in large numbers pay for news content online. It’s almost like there’s mass delusion going on in the industry-They’re saying we really really need it, that we didn’t put up a pay wall 15 years ago, so let’s do it now. In other words, they think that wanting it so badly will automatically actually change the behavior of the audience. The world doesn’t work that way. Frankly, if all the news organizations locked pinkies, and said we’re all going to put up a big fat pay wall, you know what, more traffic for us. News is a commodity; I’m sorry to say.” (from Gawker)