Protecting Content: Print Weaker Than Digital?

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OK, so maybe this blog post isn’t about movies; but we have all heard about the problem of illegal sharing when movies and music hit the Internet.

Fortunately for the movement from print to digital, “pirates” don’t seem to be widely hunting for articles to release for free; but that may be due to publishers beating them to the punch. According to some easily accessible “how-to” articles, paywalls in front of content from prestigious publishers like The New York Times can be accessed by simply deleting part of the URL (Basu). Even if you’re not tech savvy, many tablets have special priority with publishers that discard the pay wall for no fee (Basu).

So why put pay walls in to begin with?

Well, the answer is complicated as business strategies are constantly shifting and vary from company to company.  Businesses are therefore challenged to be accessible but also exclusive. The online industry is attempting to keep pace as Google continues to work towards refining their search engine to better protect more available content (Wardell). However these shifts make a question: how much money should publisher’s charge for their content? Well, this answer requires publishers to also know how much they should expect from advertising revenue. As a result, we have to note the many restrictions that are being levied on advertisers in an attempt to protect the public (FTC). Because internet can reach audiences and provide access in a way that print cannot, even advertisers have to adjust their strategies, much like publishers.

As we look back to theft however, digital seems to be a safer option than print. By looking at newspaper theft, we see advertisers giving less revenue to newspapers (SPLC). This tax on physical newspapers generates a risk that doesn’t exist online. Therefore, digital theft may be less of a pressing concern than physical theft.

While these observations hold water currently, following the rise of digital media will have ongoing consequences for print media and their accompanying advertisements and revenue structure.

Source: http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/5oys/smartshopper/2011/07/21/9888275/Theft_of_newspaper_sign-728×435.jpg

Sources:

Basu

FTC

SPLC

Wardell

 

 

Magazines, Why Economics Matters

Source: http://media.cagle.com/54/2004/02/12/8781_600.jpg

Magazines, while facing many challenges, may not be in as much peril as shown above. Similarly to their newspaper counterparts, heavy-hitting magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue are struggling to keep the interest of their audience; yet some brands such as Time have reported growth, even though it is marginal at best(Haughney, 1).

How is this happening?

Well, it may have something to do with the rising number of digital versions of these magazines appearing nearly twice as often in frequency between now and 2012. This is where economics and marketplace acumen become heavy factors in the magazine companies’ success.

Let’s look at Time, the aforementioned winner over its faltering competition. Time, like many other companies, has set out with digital subscription plans; yet it is different in a very big way. Time’s subscription allows users to access both digital and print mediums. Furthermore, readership will have to face a pay wall, manifested in a 3 month delay, if they do not subscribe to Time Magazine(Kafka, 1).

However aside from merely providing a variety of mediums, Time is masterfully getting attention for its content by using the rise of digital devices in the home. Whether you use Android or Apple, Time has already begun working on terms that direct you to their webpage where you can subscribe while you use these platforms(Kafka, 1). However the kicker in this is that due to some maneuvering, their “advertisement” on these devices costs them nothing because payment is made directly to Time, not an intermediary e-store belonging to parties like Samsung or Apple(Kafka, 1).

You may be thinking, “Where are the ads?” It is true of course that ads have began to appear more frequently online (Abu-Fadil, 1). Although some economic models make room for advertisements, health magazine-based website Rodale proves that ads aren’t everything. In fact, their paid readership covers most of the money that ads would have paid to be featured; for readership may expect to not be advertised to during paid subscriptions (Galarneau, 90).

With the development of paid sites, we can now focus on the inevitable issues that paid digital media has: free sharing and ownership rights.

 

Sources:

“Digital Continues Upward Ascent in the American Consumer Magazine Industry” (Galarneau)

“Magazine Newsstand Sales Plummet, but Digital Editions Thrive” (Haughney)

“Time Magazine Rolls Out Print/Digital Subscriptions — And Puts Up Another Web Pay Wall” (Kafka)

“World Magazine Trends 2013/14 Show Online Ad Upsurge”(Abu-Fadil)

The Growing Pains of Print to Digitial

Source: http://aculturalcollision.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/newspaperart_web.jpg

Although the picture above may suggest that print media and digital media play along nicely, the truth is far from that. But what could cause these happy newspapers to not be thrilled with the idea of posting online you ask? The answer is a very broad one: economics. While a broad concept, I can give a slightly more narrow answer and say this: if we are going to understand how newspapers and magazines are being digitized, we are going to have to follow the money and the people who spend it. Therefore, this blog post and ones to follow will address motivations and challenges faced by print media in their attempts to digitize.

Widely considered the first newspaper to be printed, Notizie Scritte was a government started newspaper with the intent of disseminating news. (Aliaksandrau, 34). However once businesses began to see opportunity for an industry, news stories were added for entertainment in the hopes to add a larger audience for advertising revenue.(Aliaksandrau, 34). In short, the medium of the printed newspaper was branded to be both a public service and an industry that learned how to turn a profit.

However, this traditional medium of print has reached an impasse with the technology that it owes its origins to. As the internet has arrived as a more accessible medium, print newspapers’ revenue have dropped by nearly 50%. (Taylor, 1). While the change to digital may seem as simple as exchanging typewriters and presses with keyboards and a website, the change has shaken up the established order.

Remember, industry breeds competition for advertising revenue streams. Now, once powerfully named companies are coming into competition for their once secure readerships. These dark-horse competitors are small newspaper chains and non-profit news centers that now can take advantage of the cheap and wide-reaching medium of the internet.(Taylor, 1).

Source: http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/Screen%20Shot%202013-03-18%20at%202.21.37%20PM.png

While it may seem bleak for newspapers that now find themselves drowned out in fresh competition, there may be hope found in loyal readership. To put a number to it: potentially 80% of newspaper readerships visit their newspaper of choice’s website to stay up to date; but this is challenged by up to 90% of a readership disappearing due to an unexpected paywall.(Aliaksandrau, 35-36). It is this tendency for newspapers to gather a following that established newspapers can carefully leverage, should they make the prescribed jump to digital.

Despite not being a completely perfected economic model, many well-regarded newspapers have launched a paywall model; so, basically, you can buy what articles you want to read after using your monthly “sample.”(Aliaksandrau, 35-36). Regardless of companies’ willingness to engage in a pay wall, the real economic force, advertisers, continues to drive the direction of economic model development as they flood an online market that provides cheaper advertising costs than the now outdated medium of print.

However, newspapers may not be the only industry being forced to digitize; for magazines are facing economic uncertainty of their own.

Sources:

Aliaksandrau, Andrei. “The Gazette in Crisis.” Index on Censorship 42 (2013): 34-38. Web. Accessed 3, March 2016.

Taylor, C. “How Internet Affects the Newspaper Business.” Chron. Web. Accessed 15 March 2016.