engine - 4:55 pm on Aug 6, 2009 (gmt 0)

I can see that newspapers need to pay their staff, and i'm all for that.

Some journals charge for content. They can charge because they are either specialists, or have built the reputation for informed comment and quality that can't be found elsewhere.

Taking mainstream news pay-for-play, or subscription, will not work. It has to be different, otherwise, why would anyone pay.

As soon as they reduce the number of eyeballs by going subscription of some sort, their opportunity for advertising revenues will diminish. It's a chicken and egg situation.

Advertising has to be the way forward, unless you're a specialist with unique content.