Walter Isaacson of Time magazine thinks newspapers made a mistake by putting everything on the Internet for free. It's this type of backward thinking that has many print publications in trouble.
The time has come for some major news organizations to take the bold step of trying to return to a system of getting paid by users for the journalism they produce.
Isaacson suggests various ways to monetize the content to offset the ever-growing costs of print publications, including revenue-based rewards for reporters. That sounds like the examiner.com model to me.
The key for attracting online revenue is coming up with easy, quick micropayment methods. We need something like digital coins or an E-Z Pass digital wallet – a one-click system that would permit impulse purchases of a newspaper, magazine, article, blog, application or video for a penny, nickel, dime or whatever the creator chooses to charge.
But John Stewart has other ideas for backtracking: making newspaper print physically addictive. Hey, it worked for tobacco companies, right?
On a more serious note, once something has been done one way, it requires a more complex compensation model to undo what's already been done. Readers have been getting this content for free on a free medium. So why should they foot the bill for mistakes made by short-sighted editors and publishers who believed that the Web was a cute fad that would disappear?
In the end, Isaacson comes full-circle to realize what many have already noticed: readers are tired of being lectured to and want to engage in a conversation.
The best way to guarantee the independence and integrity of all forms of media – new and old – would be to go back to a business model that depends on revenue from the users as well as from advertisers.
Related talkers, watchers and readers:
Walter Isaacson: People should pay for news
Video: Walter Isaacson on The Daily Show Sphere: Related Content
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