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That has been my question for years. Back in the day when I was only hearing of this thing called the Internet, people mentioned how they can read the New York
by adrianb 6y ago
That has been my question for years.
Back in the day when I was only hearing of this thing called the Internet, people mentioned how they can read the New York Times online or another famous paper. Coming from a small town in Eastern Europe that was amazing.
But I also wondered why they were able to read it for free. I wonder what made the newspapers post their content online for free - probably because the internet was a fringe curiosity and they only realized it's becoming important when it was too late.
- lazide 6y agoIt's still an open question because you're confusing what they are saying with what is going on, and not looking at what they are doing first as a source of truth. News that no one pays for doesn't help them. But also, news no one knows they have first is also news no one will pay for - or tell any of their friends to go to them for! They're in a catch 22 re: their business model - they need visibility, they need people to be able to see them and know they have something insightful to add or they're dead in the water. Now that means the search engines and aggregators, as that is where most people are looking. Most people also won't pay for random links sent by friends, or even an insightful article if they can get it somewhere else (even at a lower quality). It's an even more brutal version of what the music and movie industry deal with around streaming (and will again in movies due to the proliferation of half baked streaming services).