The Writer's Pulse

As the foundations of modern journalism come crumbling down, Shana Ting Lipton over at The Huffington Post suggests that journalists embrace changes in the industry and learn to evolve:

“Throughout the stable years, journos grew comfortable with the definition of their jobs and somehow sensed that the “medium” or the “media” was the job, rather than the conduit for a message or purpose. Little did they realize that in a modern, technologically evolving world, their medium was also meant to evolve.”

Journalism Online is finalizing its payment system in anticipation of its upcoming launch later this year. The service will allow news publications to easily charge consumers for access to news stories and other content, however it is unclear at this time how the general public will react to such a system.

Forrester Research has released a new study which indicates that, believe it or not, people don’t like paying for things they used to get for free.

According to PC World, Forrester Research

…polled around 4,700 U.S. consumers, 80 percent of whom indicated they’re unwilling to pay for access to newspaper and magazine articles and other content

While there are those who would be willing to pay for online news access, the method of payment is still uncertain, and it’s likely that, to be successful, publishers would need to provide various, easy (and let’s not forget reasonable) options for a public not quite ready to give up a once openly available commodity.

Study: Most Won’t Pay for Newspaper, Magazine Content Online – PC World

Many credit it for the fall of the newspaper business, but now publishers are turning to their arch-nemesis — the Internet — for a solution. Top of the list? Google.

“Google’s latest proposal entails expanded use of its Checkout product, which currently lets users shop across the Web but sign in in one place. Its newspaper platform would include a similar single sign-on where users could peruse content from different newspapers for one price.”

Other tech companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, and the new Journalism Online are also weighing in with possible remedies to save the crippled industry, but for now it’s unclear what the future of online news will be.

One thing’s for sure: any future pay-as-you-read plan, if successful, will drastically change the face of the Internet. And blogging.

The Online Competition to Save Newspapers – TIME

I don’t have too much to say about Judge Richard Posner or Connie Schultz or their ideas about the newspaper industry. Their arguments (to me, anyway) are strange, as they believe the only practical way to revive newspapers is to do away with online linking to news stories.

I understand where they’re coming from: bloggers and websites find stories they like, quote them, link them, and share their thoughts. I’m doing that right now. Sure, maybe that takes some traffic away from the original source, but that’s the nature of debate. Erik Schonfeld of The Washington Post sums it up nicely:

Posner never squares his position with freedom of speech or fair use rights. He doesn’t even mention them. Yet those are precisely the rights which allow me to paraphrase his argument without his permission so that I can disagree with it. – How To Save The Newspapers, Vol. XII: Outlaw Linking

So, according to some, the only way to save the newspaper industry is to reform copyright law, modify freedom of speech, and tweak fair use.

Personally, I’d rather let the newspaper industry fail.