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Island daily newspaper unveils metered online paywall

A new metered paywall website promising “unrivalled reader interaction” has been launched by a Channel Islands daily.

The move comes as the Jersey Evening Post prepares to mark its 125th anniversary, which will also see the newspaper donate its entire archive of 1.5m photographs to the people of the island it serves.

The newly-launched website will initially be free to readers throughout the month of February, when an introductory subscription offer of 99p for a month’s unlimited browsing will be offered, with the price rising to £4.99 per month thereafter.

Readers will still be able to access 10 enhanced stories for free each month.

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JEP editor Andy Sibcy said: “We have thought hard about what our growing online audience wants and have designed the website to meet their expectations.

“In the past, we have published only an abridged version of stories which appear in the paper.

“In stark contrast, the new-look site will not only give online readers the full story, but also a rich variety of additional content, much of which will be unique to jerseyeveningpost.com.

“That means story packages will feature videos, picture galleries of images.”

The JEP becomes only the third UK regional daily to introduce a metered paywall following The Herald, Glasgow, and the Press & Journal, Aberdeen.

Keith Harrison, editor of the JEP’s sister paper the Express & Star, has also voiced support for the move, saying last July that metered paywalls were “likely to be the most successful model for newspaper websites.”

Andy announced the move to readers in yesterday’s print edition, saying:  “The introduction of so-called paywalls is becoming common across the newspaper industry.

“We have designed a metered paywall so that tens of thousands of occasional visitors to our site can enjoy the premium content for nothing.

“Everyone will be able to read ten enhanced stories a month for free before they trigger the prompt to subscribe for more.

“In addition, much of our most popular content, including weather and travel information, will always be free.”

In a separate development, as part of the JEP’s 125th anniversary celebrations, a series of special supplements documenting its history, and that of the island, between 1890 and the present day will be released.

Its photo archive is in the process of being conserved and digitised before being donated to the Jersey Archive with the project being overseen by the JEP’s former editor Chris Bright, and picture editor Peter Mourant.

Said Chris: “We are delighted that the enormous archive of pictures taken by the newspaper will be professionally conserved and made more widely available for future generations.

“The JEP’s history is also the history of Jersey throughout the 20th century and, as well as covering all the news as it has happened, we have created an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to understand this unique island in all its aspects.”

15 comments

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  • February 4, 2015 at 8:29 am
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    The reason for paywalls is you cannot rely on enough profit from web advertisers. More papers will have to do this once their newspaper print income declines even more.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 8:58 am
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    It looks good, it sounds good.

    But reality will have to dawn at some point.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 10:16 am
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    99p then £5? A steep rise… Quality news? Hopefully it will not be driven by charity stories (Please no more pictures of a large cheque with the cashiers from a random supermarket)… Think i’ll just go on to the BBC website.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 10:34 am
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    Metered paywalls may attract a few former readers living away from the paper’s patch.
    Attracting new readers, print or digital, is a big ask as most news is available free elsewhere. Anyone wanting news from their local paper is already buying it and mostly over 45.
    Next time you visit the Superstore try and spot a youngster picking up a copy of the ‘local’ although expect a delay between buyers and the occasional tight, former reader nicking a free read.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 12:02 pm
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    My paper’s lead on web is story about a community of about 100 people that is not even in its circulation area. Things get desperate on quiet days and I dread company bringing in charges. People won’t pay for weekly paper stuff, I fear.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 12:05 pm
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    The crying shame is that all newspaper companies failed to do this when they originally launched on line news. Readers have now become used to getting their news free. The websites don’t make anything like enough profit and have relied on the print editions to provide their journalists and photographers. The cost has been falling circulations, thus falling profits….jobs being lost and falling standards.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 2:30 pm
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    “A rich variety of content.” Does that mean they will be employing journalists?

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  • February 4, 2015 at 3:22 pm
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    On the fence. Dont knock it. It is called recycling! (using what the print hacks produce because there are no specialist web writers on most papers. )Just owners screwing hacks financially by getting two jobs out of them for price of one. So cynical!! Or “exciting” if you like management speak.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 3:57 pm
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    Everyone’s an expert. How about visiting the site first and then commenting? I’m sure the dedicated digital editorial team would appreciate your deep insight and support.

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  • February 4, 2015 at 9:36 pm
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    The JEP should be the least of priorities to the MNA. Never mind metered paywall, I expect the management team are praying for a miracle after looking at the circulation car crash with their Shropshire Star title!

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  • February 5, 2015 at 8:11 am
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    Pay walls might have worked at the dawn of the internet. They won’t now – particularly for provincial or regional media. Just ask the Express& Star after their woeful attempt. They soon realised people won’t pay, particularly when the majority of stuff is available elsewhere.

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  • February 5, 2015 at 8:48 am
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    An Island Newspaper with no real competition, in print, online, and broadcast with circulation declines that the rest of the industry would give their right arm for, resists giving all of its news, away on the web for a number of years. They then decide to embrace the web and mobile but decide to charge for it since the content clearly is unique and wanted by the newspaper’s readers.

    Why aren’t we doing anything other than applauding this newspaper and its previous and current Management.

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  • February 5, 2015 at 12:30 pm
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    But doesn’t the Express & Star own the Jersey Post? Surely they couldn’t make the same mistake twice.

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  • February 7, 2015 at 1:09 pm
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    The JP is the only publication safe up until now in the MNA group. Keep the management fools in the Midlands away
    from the island before they destroy the JP
    like they have destroyed the express & star and Shropshire Star. Keep the circus where they belong, in Wolverhampton!

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