Paywalls alone can't save newspapers

4 March 2010

It’s ironic that the key cheerleader for newspapers’ online paywalls is the venerable R Murdoch, who led the destruction of the perceived value of newspapers – and by extension journalism – with his catastrophic 1990s price war, driving newspaper cover prices below cost.

Alan Rusbridger was right in his Cudlipp lecture to acknowledge the changing role of journalism, and he was the very first UK national editor to understand properly the implications and opportunities of the digital revolution. The Scott Trust may regret Rusbridger’s enthusiasm for the costly Berliner print adventure, but his own real passion over the past decade has been online: the global reach, the empowerment of readers and the reality that newspapers no longer break or make news. There will be a new model, several new models, and creative industries must charge for their creations, one way or another.

A universal paywall isn’t the answer. Rusbridger is also right to underline the untapped opportunities for digital advertising - companies like InSkin Media are driving new value from valuable audiences. But The Guardian needs to open up to more and varied commercial opportunities. The only route for newspapers is to work harder, create interesting, value-adding activities (like Times+) in a hybrid approach.

The pragmatic and highly tuned commercial instincts of News International will surely persuade it to apply paywalls sparingly and judiciously. It would be nonsense to switch off The Sun’s broadcast audience for such meagre return.

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