*Updated* (with the usual edits)

More and more commercial news media or newspapers of various forms are heading toward creating a fee to read or, more commonly referred to as a paywall model of one sort or another, for either select content or most if not all of their content. Others, including within Vermont, have already established such.

The free online versions of such news media or newspaper Websites as they currently exist include a revenue-generation model in the form of paid ads on its pages. The fee versions will probably offer the same as well, the only difference will be people will have to be paid subscribers in order to view its content.

Unless online edition readers can gain access to additional quality content that makes it well worth paying for a subscription, it is most likely only those with enough disposable income to afford such will be able to gain access and, those who cannot afford to do so will lose access to content that had been available up until paywalls were or are put in place.

These news media sources or newspapers may gain some online subscribers for the paid content area of their Website, however could also end up losing numbers of visitors who use to visit as well as bring others to content of mutual interest and, whom might have clicked through onto paid ads as well.

Even for those who can afford to subscribe to the fee versions of these news media sources or newspapers, one would be less prone to e-mail, tweet or blog about and link to such content if one’s family members, friends and peers or followers and blog readers cannot gain access as well, unless they paid for it of course.

Thus, while gaining a certain amount of income from paying subscribers, these news media sources or newspapers could lose income on the other end and it could prove to be a wash, if not a net loss (no pun intended).

In addition, the haves will have access if they pay for such and, the have-nots will lose out because they cannot afford to pay for it, unless they go to the library and are able to read the print edition there.

What this paywall trend will most likely bring about is for the community and weekly newspapers that have viable print editions (some of which are free) as well as full online editions and, do not charge for access to their online content (since the ads bring in plenty of revenue), will continue to grow in greater popularity and will also be able to feature more and better quality content.

The dailies as well as those weeklies or monthlies based on the older business model, who cannot manage to afford to keep up, will be forced to downsize more and more, which has been happening already, both elsewhere as well as also within Vermont.

The fact is that news media sources or newspapers that are more about business or the financial bottom line than they are about providing quality news and rich, meaningful content will continue to decline.

While those that are more about providing quality news and rich, meaningful content, than they are about business and their financial bottom line, will continue to grow and thrive. This is proving to be true all over and it seems will remain so.

This will also help to foster the growth of citizen media sites and various blogs, most of whom do not have feewalls, yet might generate revenue through paid ads and the like, including through tip jars. There are many examples of blogs that have grown a healthy readership and do well because of it.

In fact, many within traditional media attempt to blame these sites and blogs for their woes, even though many of them were in trouble both long before such emerged as well as, even after these sites or blogs appeared on the scene and became well established, for much different reasons.

Among the reasons people create or are drawn to visit such sites and blogs is due to these providing something traditional media either had little interest doing in a quality manner or not being engaging or interactive enough to allow people to feel they have a real and meaningful voice on matters of concern and interest to them.

As far as myself goes, especially for all the many news media sources or newspapers I visit when access to such content of interest is free, I certainly cannot afford to pay for paid subscriptions for the fee area of these online versions.

Yet, even if I were somehow able to afford to do so for some, tweeting or blogging links to content within these paywall areas would not make sense, because most of my followers or blog readers would not have access unless they paid for it. This would actually cause me not to bother to do so, since a lot of my visiting and reading is part of the social networking model of news gleaning and sharing I do for the various advocacy efforts I engage in solely on a volunteer (unpaid) basis.

That is my two cents on the subject, what is yours?

(cross-posted from Vermont Watch, here)

*Note*: made several, mostly minor, edits for the purposes of clarification and readability; last updated on Friday, October 1, 2010 at 4:25 AM (ET).

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