(Timp estimat pentru citirea acestui articol: 2 min)
I learned that, once you get used to free stuff, you will have a hard time accepting to be charged for the things you were getting for free.
The Bluffton Today newspaper, a free community newspaper with an online version and an e-paper version, just announced that it will ask for a small fee from its readers starting December 1st.
So now we’re going to ask you to reach into your pockets. We hate to do it, but at the same time we think this paper is worth it, thanks to you. We have afascinating, rewarding conversation going on in these pages. Sure, the Vox can become tedious, and we’ve heard from some mighty cranky readers over the past few years, but the fact is Blufftonians are talking to and helping each other thanks to this remarkable experiment called Bluffton Today.
The odd thing is that they will charge even the online content, while leaving blogs and headlines in open access.
The Inquisitr says that this is an atypical step, but in times of crisis marketing lessons don’t apply. Poyner online considers the price (25 cents Mon-Sat, 75 cents on Sundays) „a bargain” and it says it’s still a cheap price for the European media market:
Over here, we typically pay 1 Euro (currently $1.27 USD) at the newsstand, or 25 Euros per month or more for home delivery.
Now, I understand that there are some costs associated with the production, printing and distribution of a printed newspaper, but what are the costs for the online edition? Can’t you just mirror the content on the Web, paying a salary to an online editor and run some advertising? The Bluffton Today‘s readers are still puzzled.