Pew Study Highlights Search for Paid Content Business Models

The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism released its report last week on the financial standing of the country’s newspapers, and for

The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism released its report last week on the financial standing of the country’s newspapers, and for the most part, it’s not good news. Or more pointedly, it’s not good news for traditional media business Models.As we’ve known for a long time, the report confirms the poor performance of advertising dollars online in comparison to print advertising. But the more insidious problem maybe the ongoing culture wars between legacy-nostalgic staff and digital-friendly colleagues.The Neiman Foundations’s summary of the study and ensuing commentary makes a case for the growing momentum for paywalls — recently instituted at the LA Times, Providence Journal, and Gannett. But the more telling development may be the LA Times’s decision to call its subscription service not a paywall, but a membership option. Whether that changes the perception of paywalls and paying for content is yet to be determined, as Spot.us’s David Cohn points out.What does it all mean? Mostly, that you’re not alone in trying to navigate the changing media landscape, and that you’re probably ahead of the curve by adopting a subscription business Model. We’ll continue to update you on what the big media companies are doing and how you can replicate it for your site — and if you should. After all, what works for the big media companies may or may not work for niche publications. But that’s why you have us as your friendly tour guide.

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