It is a big mistake for News International to start charging for content. It is a regressive move in my view. It takes News International back to the walled garden web site approaches of the 1990s. One which Yahoo has been struggling to break free from. If you charge for content you put up barriers. Besides news is a commodity now. News International will deny itself readers. It will prevent its columnists from getting their viewpoints across; it will be hard for News International writers to enter into conversations with other online communities and so on. My argument would be to make News International's content as accessible as possible: let go and be everywhere. Build the brand. Gain influence and charge more for ads. Unique visitors will increase. Be innovative about where you put your ads. Also I think there probably is a case for re-thinking the role of journalism as practicised by News International. How do you compete when news is everywhere for free. How do you really distinguish yourself? Having said that, I don't blame Murdoch for trying to protect his assets. But in my humble opinion, he is not approaching it in the right way.
www.itsopen.co.uk
