Preston proposes broadband licence fee to pay for journalism
By Andrew Grant-Adamson • Apr 19th, 2009 • Category: Journalism, Newspapers, online newsPeter Preston puts forward the idea of a broadband licence fee to pay for jouralism in his Observer column today. Whatever the initial reactions — mine is favourable — it is something which deserves extensive debate.
How to pay for journalism in the future in the UK has become mired in the similar but different debate in the US. As Preston says:
Put aside American notions of micro-payments for surfing the news or big dollops of cash from rich foundations to keep investigative reporters in business. We’re used to paying a flat annual fee for our entertainment. Plonk the money down up front and everything else comes without charge (unless we volunteer to help Rupert Murdoch’s pension plan). The difficulty isn’t that the system doesn’t work, just that what we pay for is morphing so fast and so bewilderingly,
Use a little logic to shape events, then. Split the licence in two. Lump conventional TV and radio into one package that, until a few years ago, would have been the only package around. Then create a second fee package for cyberspace.
It is very easy to find objections to the idea but it is one of the better ones around if society believes the journalism which exposes Downing Street’s sleazy blog ideas and unruly police behaviour is important.
Preston’s proposal deserves to be read in full — free on the internet for those who are not prepared to pay £2 for the paper.
Andrew Grant-Adamson is Andrew Grant-Adamson is a journalist who now teaches a new generation of writers, subs and editors at the University of Westminster.
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I personally feel the press and news publications have taken far to long to jump on the online bandwagon. All signs were clear with broadband roll out and when most of the country would have access. The press have ignored the internet in fear of what could happen, instead of embracing it.
The online environment is not the same as traditional press, the same pricing models will not work. With offline publications readers are given content that they may not be interested in reading, but it is included within the publication. This leads to wasted investment and resources from providing content that is deemed important by the publication.
People have moved online because they can choose what they want to read, they can delve into a subject in as much detail as they wish through using many different reference sources. Vast arrays of media are available to add new angles to what a reader finds interesting.
This whole model is totally different to traditional press, times have changed and new sources of revenue need to be generated. BBC Radio 1 suddenly increased the quality of its content and guests after introducing “Text in to the Studio”, each text message costs more than a normal text and from rallying listeners to share their viewpoint and get involved money is generated and reinvested.
“Free may be lovely, but it’s also increasingly tatty and second-rate. ”
Free is a standard, get used to it, work out how to offer related advertising opportunity’s on a small scale, which is exactly what Google has done through Pay Per Click adverts. Now anyone can set up a campaign and gain visibility for very small costs, because this is such a effective method of advertising and promotion at such a low cost many people have subscribed to the idea and are willing to pay Google to advertise.
Newspapers need to take a re-look at themselves online, focus on gaining a targeted online audience that is appealing to advertisers. Then offer advertisers options at many levels, not just high cost adverts but low cost through automation. Embed adverts in a graceful manor that compliments content, large brands could sponsor selected topics for periods and pay for visibility, where smaller organisations can gain less visibility but more targeted placement of their advertisements charged per clicks.
This would certainly align the online presence of a newspaper with what consumers want, and advertisers can only exist if their is a consumer base to market to. Linking this understanding with online development is key. Stop thinking traditional and embrace the choice that readers have online.
The BBC is a unique entity, yes it has massive budgets, but budgets for the good of the public. Thankfully the BBC has planned and fully embraced what the internet has to offer, meeting what current consumers desire. The press needs to get creative and employ online experts to re-brand their online business model and approach to service readers.