The new head of digital for Johnston Press has said the introduction of paid content is “very much in his mind” in a speech to an industry conference.
Jeff Moriarty, left, took up the role of chief digital and product officer for JP two months ago, replacing Henry Faure-Walker who is now chief executive of Newsquest.
In a speech yesterday he raised the prospect of a system of “micropayments” for content similar to that of iTunes.
Jeff was speaking at the Future of the Media in Scotland conference organised by JP flagship title The Scotsman.
He said: “I came into this job with an understanding of the paid content space. I don’t yet know how it applies here in Scotland or the rest of the UK; it’s a different media landscape and there’s a lot more competition here than there is in the US.
“You have the BBC, the national newspapers, so I don’t know how this applies yet but it’s something very much in my mind as I move forward at Johnston Press.”
Before taking up his current role, Jeff introduced a paywall system at US title the Boston Globe, which by the time he left had 70,000 paying subscribers.
He said yesterday that the future of paid content would be best-served on a micro-payment model similar to that of iTunes, although he said it could take years for the industry to create it.
“I think micro-payments for content are ultimately the future,” he told the conference. “It’s probably a few years away. It will probably be pioneered by another industry and the people like us in the content space will be able to benefit from that.
“I think it’s just a matter of time before we start to see more of that kind of experimentation.”
In an interview after the speech, Jeff said Johnston Press had no pressing plans to introduce paid content, but that it was something all of the industry should be looking at.
He added: “I think the UK market is different from the US,” he said. “I think there is probably less willingness to pay from what I can tell at this moment but I do believe there is some value in having some consumer paid revenue streams – we charge for the newspaper every day, after all. We’re always looking at that and in this industry we have to be.”
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Spoiler alert!
So that must mean JP will soon be charging to look at the news videos on their sites, some of which are actually shorter than the advert about acid erosion of teeth and most look like footage the sales guy in Dixons shot demonstrating a VHS Handicam to a customer.
Suggestion for JP – if it is going to mean micro-payments, make them teeny weeny mini micropayments.
And is it me, but – I could have given that speech!
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Paid-for, pay-wall, or whatever-you-want-to-call-it content cannot work on a local level.
It might be fine for the nationals, I can see that possibly working. But why should the person in the street pay for local news when they can get it free some place else within a matter of minutes?
Just because it might work across the pond, does not mean it will here.
Another ‘peach’ from the boys in the JP looney lab.
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Stable, horse, bolted. There is so much free information out there now, I doubt anyone cares.
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I like this idea.
JP sack photographers & cut reporters, reducing costs.
They want user generated content and free pics supplied by ‘the public’ and then expect ‘the public’ to pay to read their own stories and look at their own pictures.
It really is a brilliant business plan…
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The Boston Globe example cannot be compared to the regional press here in the UK. For a start the Boston, USA, region has a population of 4.5 million – so even 70,000 subscribers is not a great percentage take up.
It’s a bit like saying to people ‘would you like to keep on paying the TV license fee if you had a choice?’
It won’t work on a sustainable scale.
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Nice of him to be so candid: “I came into this job with an understanding of the paid content space. I don’t yet know how it applies here in Scotland or the rest of the UK; it’s a different media landscape and there’s a lot more competition here than there is in the US.
“You have the BBC, the national newspapers, so I don’t know how this applies yet …”
I bet he didn’t trot those lines out at his interview. It would have been more about creating ‘vertical platforms’ and the usual jargon.
DCM
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If you want people to pay for content then you have to make sure the content is worth paying for. Of course, if digital generated sufficient ad revenue we wouldn’t be having this debate.
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Who the devil is going to pay for regional online content? Just who? Anyone want to tell me on here if they would and why they would?
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I think Showbeastie is right, folk won’t pay for bog standard local news,which they probably feels belongs to them any way. With small overstretched staffs the regionals can’t generate the content that would be worth a micropayment.
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I really feel for staff left behind after the end of enhanced VR. Is this really the best idea in digital? Three words of advice. Sell shares now.
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