Before the re-emerging idea of paying for news on the Web (see the bottom of
this interview with Belo exec Jim Moroney III and
these comments from Bill Keller of
The New York Times) gets too thoroughly trashed, let's explore how it might actually work this time around.
Discussion starter: Instead of erecting the kinds of pay walls that have almost all failed in the past, create something new from content already gathered. Repurpose the material in formats different enough -- valuable enough -- to charge for.
A couple of good ideas courtesy of Josh Benton at Nieman Journalism Lab: the three ways Jeff Jarvis is selling his "What Would Google Do" book -- Kindle version for $14.84, a 23-minute video for $9.99, and a link to this still relevant 2007 discussion of
Free as a Tactic, Not a Business Model.
