NEWSDAY Doomsday: Only 35 Subscribers for Paid Online Content...

[Mr_Pat]

Failure....


After Three Months, Only 35 Subscriptions for Newsday's Web Site
http://www.observer.com/2010/media/a...-site?page=all

In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall. The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect?

So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com?

The answer: 35 people. As in fewer than three dozen. As in a decent-sized elementary-school class.

That astoundingly low figure was revealed in a newsroom-wide meeting last week by publisher Terry Jimenez when a reporter asked how many people had signed up for the site. Mr. Jimenez didn't know the number off the top of his head, so he asked a deputy sitting near him. He replied 35.

Michael Amon, a social services reporter, asked for clarification.

"I heard you say 35 people," he said, from Newsday's auditorium in Melville. "Is that number correct?"

Mr. Jimenez nodded.

Hellville, indeed.

The web site redesign and relaunch cost the Dolans $4 million, according to Mr. Jimenez. With those 35 people, they've grossed about $9,000.

In that time, without question, web traffic has begun to plummet, and, certainly, advertising will follow as well.

Of course, there are a few caveats. Anyone who has a newspaper subscription is allowed free access; anyone who has Optimum Cable, which is owned by the Dolans and Cablevision, also gets it free. Newsday representatives claim that 75 percent of Long Island either has a subscription or Optimum Cable.

"We're the freebie newsletter that comes with your HBO," sniffed one Newsday reporter.

Mr. Jimenez was in no mood to apologize. "That's 35 more than I would have thought it would have been," said Mr. Jimenez to the assembled staff, according to five interviews with Newsday staffers.

He argued that the web was not intended to be a revenue generator, but rather to provide extra benefit to loyal subscribers.

In the short time that the Dolans have owned Newsday, it's been a circus. When they were closing the deal to buy the paper in May 2008, they had their personal spokesman scream at an editor who assigned a reporter to visit the Dolans, seeking comment; there was a moment back in January of last year, when Newsday editor John Mancini walked out of the newsroom because of a dispute over how the paper was handling the Knicks; in the summer, the paper refused to run ads by Verizon, a rival; Tim Knight, the paper's publisher, and John Mancini, the editor, eventually both left.

The paper, which traditionally has been a powerful money maker, lost $7 million in the first three quarters of last year, according to Mr. Jimenez at last week's meeting.

In October, the web site relaunched and was redesigned. One of the principals behind the redesign is Mr. Mancini's replacement, editor Debby Krenek.
To say the least, the project has not been a newsroom favorite. "The view of the newsroom is the web site sucks," said one staffer.

"It's an abomination," said another.

And now the paper is in the middle of a labor dispute in which it wants to extract a 10 percent pay cut from all employees. The vote was turned down by a risibly high factor, of 473 to 10, this past Sunday.

Things are bleak in old Hellville, the pet nickname some reporters have established for life on Long Island.

"In the meeting with Terry, half the questions weren't about labor issues, but about why isn't this feature in the paper anymore?" said one reporter. "People are still mad about losing our national correspondents, our foreign bureaus and the prestige of working for a great newspaper. The last thing we had was a living wage, being one of the few papers where you're paid well. And to have that last thing yanked from you? It's made people so mad."
Send tips and feedback to jkoblin@observer.com

[phishNtrips]

FAIL

[Deadshow Dan]

Originally Posted by Mr_Pat

Of course, there are a few caveats. Anyone who has a newspaper subscription is allowed free access; anyone who has Optimum Cable, which is owned by the Dolans and Cablevision, also gets it free. Newsday representatives claim that 75 percent of Long Island either has a subscription or Optimum Cable.

.

[williscat2000]

capitalism'd

[lunaone]

scary to think the newspapers could be no more...or at the very least just online

[Arglebargle]

Nobody ever said Freedom of the Press is free man.

[halfstar]

Internet killed the Newspaper star.

[sarah b.]

here's the thing. newsday's my local paper. if I want to see something badly enough, I'll go buy the f'ing paper. I think it's 50 cents. It's free (for me), if I go read it at my grandma's. Now, the New York Times, that's a totally different story. If the NYT goes to a pay model and it's $20, even $25/year, I'd totally buy it. They cover more, and better. Integrity, quality, range. You need that, if you want people to pay. Not saying Newsday lacks that, just saying NYT has way more. Newsday has way better comics, any day of the week, but I'm not paying for that.

[deadheadskier]

New York Times is supposed to start charging for content in 2011.........

[unbroken_chain]

I get all my "news" right here on these boards

[seany]

Originally Posted by sarah b.

If the NYT goes to a pay model and it's $20, even $25/year, I'd totally buy it.

Newsday was asking $5/wk - $260/yr. That's still less than $1/day.

I can't imagine that the NYT will go to a pay model that's much less than that. Even if it's half or a quarter of that, they're still going to lose a lot of readers.

Seems it would be better to keep it cheap and try to offset costs w/ online ad revenue

[nikkiblue]

Originally Posted by unbroken_chain

I get all my "news" right here on these boards

lol. Me too!

I was approaced in the supermarket last month by newsday representatives. They offered me a 200 visa check card if I signed up for home delivery 7 days for 5 dollars a week.
It was a sweet deal But getting the paper would just leave me with a big pile of unread papers.

[sarah b.]

nyt would have more success with $1/week.

[space_hero]

making money for online journalism is no easy task, but it will be necessary to survive very soon. there is a reason the WSJ is pouring tons of money into figuring out how to make it work.

[TexasSnowmonkey]

I wonder who the 35 suckers who paid for it were

[Deadshow Dan]

Originally Posted by TexasSnowmonkey

I wonder who the 35 suckers who paid for it were

I'd bet at least one was for professional reasons. "Yes, we are paid subscribers"

[purple cowboy]

NYT had NYT Select for a while which was a pay service (or free with your subscription) but decided to do away with it in 2007 because they couldn't charge as much for advertising space as regular web surfers blocked out of the select content would never see the ads on those pages.

But I think there was an official announcement about "metered" service beginning in 2011. It's far enough in advance that they can retreat off that position if the industry is shaken again (Apple tablets, google whatever).

[scarfire]

Originally Posted by Mr_Pat

In October, the web site relaunched and was redesigned. One of the principals behind the redesign is Mr. Mancini's replacement, editor Debby Krenek.
To say the least, the project has not been a newsroom favorite. "The view of the newsroom is the web site sucks," said one staffer.

"It's an abomination," said another.

abomination is about right.

4 million $ for that?

an embarrassment beyond belief.

the website design is awful and difficult to use. i stopped reading newsday online even though i can see it for free.

[capt_morgan]

couldnt i just download their newspaper in demonoid?

[Mr_Pat]

Originally Posted by capt_morgan

couldnt i just download their newspaper in demonoid?

Could you really?

[capt_morgan]

Originally Posted by Mr_Pat

Could you really?

not yet...theres no demand

[jme]

Originally Posted by scarfire

the website design is awful and difficult to use. i stopped reading newsday online even though i can see it for free.

yup. horrible.

[Foo]

wow 35 and I thought my mom was one of then but was wrong!
Last week a friend sent me a link on Newsday about a mutual friend that was missing in Haiti. I was unable to read it. I then emailed my mom and asked her for a password since I know she still reads Newsday online. She emailed back saysing all she reads now is the obits to see if any of her friend have died. The obits are still free!

[Dr. Freakynutz]

Originally Posted by lunaone

scary to think the newspapers could be no more...or at the very least just online

why is that scary?

Newspapers seem like such a waste and a pain in the ass. I think it is a pain in the ass to physically manipulate a newspaper and the content
is so limited. I don't see why anyone cares if that medium dies, except a need for things to remain the same arbitrarily.

[drvic]

is this digg.com version 2.0?

[capt_morgan]

kill the newspapers...save the trees.

[Dr. Freakynutz]

Originally Posted by capt_morgan

kill the newspapers...save the trees.

I imagine that is an enormously unpopular view. the newspapers are dying, but not because of any conservationist point of view. people have demonstrated time and again, that just doesn't matter.

[lunaone]

Originally Posted by Dr. Freakynutz

why is that scary?

Newspapers seem like such a waste and a pain in the ass. I think it is a pain in the ass to physically manipulate a newspaper and the content
is so limited. I don't see why anyone cares if that medium dies, except a need for things to remain the same arbitrarily.

not eveyone can afford a computer. i have always enjoyed holding/folding , crosswords, comics, sports...etc., the integrity of the news it seems is lessened with all the online voices to me. if we are left with just the blog version of events it becomes too polemic and divides people into us/them to often. i guess it is my feeling that the community is too large on the net.

[Dr. Freakynutz]

Originally Posted by lunaone

not eveyone can afford a computer. i have always enjoyed holding/folding , crosswords, comics, sports...etc., the integrity of the news it seems is lessened with all the online voices to me. if we are left with just the blog version of events it becomes too polemic and divides people into us/them to often. i guess it is my feeling that the community is too large on the net.

computers are pretty cheap now. the same resources that produce news in print produce them online. blogs are not the only source for news online. I find many print newspapers to be extremely one sided, opinionated and biased. the size of the community on the internet is also a strength in that voices that otherwise wouldn't be heard have a voice. I think that people should be able to do what they want, but considering the waste produced by printed newspapers, even with recycling, the amount of print news should be reduced.

[SunshineDrummer]

Why should I pay Newsday when I can go to AP's site or whoever & read the stuff for free? Besides, Newsday is a joke of paper anyway. I have free access to their online content through my cable subscription and even that doesn't get me to read it.

Besides, has any newspaper that's attempted to go to a pay-only service had success with it?

[GoPlastic]

news 12 (also owned by cablevision) knows who i am via my IP, and doesn't ask me to sign up for their online service. i refuse to specifically sign up for newsday's online service, even as an optonline/cablevision subscriber. so...screw 'em.