Blogger quits Times over paywall
ShareThisThe Times blogger Tim Kevan has
withdrawn his Baby Barista blog, citing the publication's decision to
erect a paywall, which he says will be "a disaster". Kevan worries that the move to paid online content signals a lack of innovation and paints The Times as a "big lumbering giant" unable to cope with online media.
Will other writers - who, above all, want their work to be seen - follow the exodus?
Editor's Weblog points out that "The institution of a paywall does cast a rather archaic shadow on any publication that chooses to block its content. The free flow of information is a very modern phenomenon and The Times' paywall represents a blockade on such information sharing."
Editor's Weblog continues:
"Kevan's point about the paywall's lack of innovation is an important one. While a paywall seems like an obvious answer to the media's struggle to maintain profit while cooperating with Internet news, perhaps it is a little too obvious. Kevan's call for online media sources to think outside of the box could be key to the future of news reporting. Like iTunes saved the music industry's profits from the perils of the Internet, so can one innovative idea save the newspaper Industry."
Will other writers - who, above all, want their work to be seen - follow the exodus?
Editor's Weblog points out that "The institution of a paywall does cast a rather archaic shadow on any publication that chooses to block its content. The free flow of information is a very modern phenomenon and The Times' paywall represents a blockade on such information sharing."
Editor's Weblog continues:
"Kevan's point about the paywall's lack of innovation is an important one. While a paywall seems like an obvious answer to the media's struggle to maintain profit while cooperating with Internet news, perhaps it is a little too obvious. Kevan's call for online media sources to think outside of the box could be key to the future of news reporting. Like iTunes saved the music industry's profits from the perils of the Internet, so can one innovative idea save the newspaper Industry."
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