ESPN mag Web site to merge with Insider content

Come August, ESPN The Magazine's website will start charging for its content, the company announced this week.

The publication's content, which consists of a video series an ongoing web articles, will become part of ESPN's Insider content, which costs$6.95 a month, or $39.95 a year.

The Insider, which has about 350,000 paying subscribers, will still be available gratis to ESPN Magazine subscribers for one year.

View the story here.

Top newspaper execs meet to discuss charging for online content

According to The Atlantic, the nation's top newspaper executives will be coming together to discuss charging for online content at a hotel near Chicago today.
The Models to Monetize Content meeting, said to be organized by Newspaper Association of America and led by Barbara Cohen, will reportedly include executives from Advance Publications, The Associated Press, E.W. Scripps, Freedom Communications Inc., Gannett, Hearst Newspapers, Lee Enterprises, McClatchy, MediaNews Group,The New York Times Co. and Philadelphia Media Holdings.

The decisions made at this meeting could indelibly change the face of the media landscape to come. While some journalists are cheering the prospect of being paid for online content, many readers are still uncertain of online content's value and the ability of newspapers to offer more worth beyond their print editions.
James Warren's perspective on the meeting and the industry as a whole is similar to that of many journalists' today-simultaneously cynical and optimistic. From the story:

Now, more than ever, is a time for creativity and nerve, not just hunkering down and crossing fingers that safe harbor will appear on the horizon. It's a wonderful and important product, vital to American communities. Unlike a lot of jobs, you can look yourself in the mirror and know you're doing some good. Many newsrooms remain filled with a sense of mission even amid the looming dread.

View the story here.

How do you feel about the meeting and charging for online content? Comment and let us know.

San Jose Mercury News may charge for content

The San Jose Mercury News has reportedly decided to start charging for its content. The paper is reportedly planning on charging people to access its online edition.
The paper's choice has the potential to impact how other Media News Group publications treat their online content.
Former Mercury News online editor Michael Bazeley said the move could put the paper at the mercy of competing organizations.

"You're going to essentially open up the market for other people who want to come into the market and offer content for free, and there will always be people. There will always be competitors who see an opportunity," Bazeley said.

Readers also offered skepticism about the decision.
Mercury staff have remained silent about the dramatic change thus far, declining an interview with a local media station ABC7.
View the story here.

Still hope for newspapers

In a recent Forbes.com article, Lauren Rich Fine, director of research at ContentNext Media, urges newspapers employees to expand their boundaries and challenge current media norms with creative alternatives in order to prolong their longevity.
"The world is changing. Newspapers need to change with it," said Fine who also is a practitioner in residence at Ohio’s Kent State University College of Communication & Information.
Fine suggests media companies re-vamp their community relationships by having reporters interact more with residents. Also, newspapers can add value to their content for the communities they serve by embracing new media options for better engagement.

WSJ to introduce micro-payment service

The Financial Times reports that News Corp has plans to take its paid content model one step further.
This year the company will introduce a micro-payment service that allows visitors to pay for individual articles and premium subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal’s website.
From the story:

"The move will position the Journal as the first big newspaper title to adopt a model many are cautiously studying as they seek to reduce their dependence on plunging advertising revenues. It comes as John Kerry, the senator leading congressional hearings on the future of journalism, told the FT it was conceivable that publishers could be given limited exemption from antitrust laws to discuss online models."

MarketWatch.com gets a makeover

Reuters reports that MarketWatch.com launched a redesigned Web site today, one that's aimed to attract sophisticated professionals and bring in a wider class of advertisers.
According to the report, the site's new design packs in more content, stock quotes on demand, customized data and charts. It will also offer breaking news, analysis and market data in automatic updates.
From the story:

"It also plans to refine its focus on markets coverage, increase its technology story coverage, step up its presence overseas in places such as Japan, Israel and Canada and emphasize commentary -- a growing trend among news outlets trying to branch out beyond offering "commodity" daily news."

New York Times considers charging for content

At its annual conference Thursday, New York Times Company Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said that The New York Times is considering charging for some content again, according to Editor & Publisher.

Sulzberger did not specify any particular business model, but suggested the Times would look again at trying to get paid for its content. For several years, the flagship paper charged international users to access its site, and for a few years charged for access to opinion columns and other contents in its Times Select program.

Sulzberger did not say that the paper would stop running ads online, a practice he characterized as extremely successful.
He offered no time frame for a potential move beyond a statement that more information would be available "at a future date."
Click here to read more.

Changes to The Fresno Bee's business section

The Fresno Bee will eliminate some national and international features to keep a focus on local business news.
The change comes as the papers modifies it business and features sections and opinion pages in an effort to freshen up content.
Starting tomorrow, the daily stock market report will slim down to one page to include more snapshot features and allow the Opinion page to move to the back of the daily business section.
On Sundays, readers will now see new data pages of stock and mutual fund information.
The paper is also launching a local column by farm reporter Dennis Pollock.
For the full release click here.