[Screenshot shows image from Phoenix station commercial]
The KPHO CBS affiliate is taking aim at paywall plans by Gannett's Phoenix media operations -- The Arizona Republic and KPNX-TV -- in an advertisement saying news and information should be free. The ad, which you can watch on YouTube, uses an American flag and other patriotic imagery to illustrate its claim.
The ad also notes that the station won't ask for viewers' credit card number, a clear attempt to stir up online security worries among potential subscribers to the GCI website.
KPHO is owned by Meredith Corp. Its ad arrives as GCI rolls out paywalls nationwide amid concerns that rival outlets will try to pick off readers and viewers who don't want to pay for online access.
The Republic and KPNX, which operate a combined newsroom at azcentral.com, plan their paywall launch in September. They will become GCI's largest news media outlet to require that readers and viewers pay for online access.
The paper's circulation is 321,600 weekdays, and 538,579 on Sundays, according to ABC's March 31 figures.
Earlier: Republic readers turn table on editor Lovely.
You know, it miffs me a bit that established news operations, all of which are in their own special death spirals, would cannibalize each other like that.
ReplyDeleteBut the most damning thing in that ad? The claim that their website is "straightforward." Not "better." Just "straightforward," as though that's the main differentiation. Ouch.
Every freaking market where Gannett is a competitor should run an ad like this. Awesome stuff.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this is a local market decision. Obviously, Meredith cannot survive without charging for content.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that KPHO's news department is no different than any other TV news operation in the country: They get most of their stories from the morning paper.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way it works here in Miami...and most of the time the stations don't even bother to tell viewers.
Hypocritical, to say the least.
Wonder what they'd do if people started charging them per "Newsworthy" Tip?
ReplyDeleteDouble for a "Newsworthy" Expose'!
The simple thing is, Gannett's and many other paywalls are easy to circumvent. People who download music illegally will have no problem cheating the paywalls either, and thus no revenue for the sites.
ReplyDeleteSmart move by KPHO and one that will be copied by other media outlets for sure. You can't expect to start charging for something you always have given away for free to go over very well. Our local papers website is the last place most people would go to for news and that was before they started charging.
ReplyDeletestory on azcentral yesterday about murder sucide had address on one side of town, and map attached show a completly different location. yeah, that's worth paying for !!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter if some, many or most circumvent the paywall.
ReplyDeleteWe're still getting paid more than before if even just one signs up - and oh, by the way - we just pushed through a huge price increase on home delivery.
So page views are down. Quality of the audience is up, and our next Scarborough research will reflect that - giving online advertisers the qualified, monied eyeballs they want instead of the bottom-feeding freebie-seekers.
I'm no cheerleader but telling my city that our work is worth something - and worth more than 30 seconds of coverage once a week we get from the tv station 30 miles down the road? I love it.
Bill...Bill...Bill, you call that hypocritical?
ReplyDeleteHow many newspapers newsrooms make sure they dial up the 5, 6 & 10 p.m. news to make sure they haven't missed anything for the next day's paper?
We all steal from each other.
Watching the nightly news and chasing missed stories is very different from planning your daily assignments around what was published in the morning paper. In my experience, TV reporters have no shame in simply rewriting newspaper copy and slapping their byline to it. That is stealing.
ReplyDeleteWell said, 12:40. I hope it turns out that way.
ReplyDeleteWeird that back in 2008 when they let go about 5 employees at my local paper all the TV stations covered it as a large lay off by Gannett. This year after my local paper let go over 30 employees those same stations and the paper were silent.
ReplyDeleteKudos to KPHO! They should have their new web readers sign-up for e-news updates and give them the secret "trick" to receive FREE stories for LIFE on any Gannett owned site!
ReplyDelete12:40....I don't know what site you work at, however Phoenix is a different animal. azcentral gets about 100,000,000 page views/month and there are still some popular sections (or ad positions) that sell out on a somewhat regular basis (to the point where advertisers have to be turned away-- or at least pushed into something else). They cannot afford to lose 10, 20 or 30% of page views. It will cost them advertising revenue.
ReplyDeleteMORE LIKE 80%
ReplyDelete"They cannot afford to lose 10, 20 or 30% of page views. It will cost them advertising revenue."
Dear Gracia:
Please think. Thanks.
A. Shareholder
They ain't selling out NOTHIN on their website. Maybe one or two sections but look at the homepage right now. 9am is prime time and they have not one, but THREE syndicate ads playing. That is pathetic. I would
ReplyDeleteSay they are selling out 30% of their online inventory at most.
So that's the strategy: We can't come close to selling out our online advertising inventory, so it's not going to be a problem if our traffic plummets with the paywall.
ReplyDeleteKPHO and other stations in town can't match what The Republic puts out in news, and what they produce is not worth paying for. But even with a decimated staff with an average age that can't possibly be over 25, The Republic still has far more reporters on the ground. KPNX is weak, and the combo is not nearly what they'd like to think it is, but this is still the best news organization in town. Worth paying for online? Absolutely. (Worth what they're asking? No.)
ReplyDeleteNJ.com are putting up billboard's in Monmouth County saying "Now better serving Monmouth County". Perfect timing for them if you ask me
ReplyDeleteWell I cancelled my subscription after the news came out. Then AZ Repulsive called me and wanted me back at a lesser rate than I paid before I cancelled. Even the guy who called me said they have been inundated with cancellations and have to rethink their pricing structure. REALLY? Phoenix will soon welcome back snowbirds who are not very savvy digital users. You think they will pay an extra $10/month for the same content they get today. I think not.
ReplyDeleteKPHO is now ending their news stories with a subtle dig at azcentral, when a reporter ends a story and throws it back to the anchor, the anchor says, "for more on this story visit our FREE website."
ReplyDeleteIt would be a great counter ad to list all the media who will continue to subscribe. Can you imagine radio stations without the content of the Republic...especially after it drops its AP membership.
ReplyDeleteLike their competitors KPNX steals from its own newsroom partner. And its a newsroom by the way, not a stupid "information center". There is still division in there as the Republic folks don't deem their KPNX counterparts as worthy of sharing, which they aren't. I don't blame the KPNX staff for wanting to use Repbulic scoops because they are slave shopped into shooting, editing and writing for their stories burning most of them out after a year or so. The producers there are bonafied morons too, always bitching about the Republic people never share with us. Meanwhile, the other lame local tv affiliates will thieve the paywall benefits and pass them off as their own for free, which is awesome. Long story short, the news this whole town does isn't worth paying for anyway, which is why the Phoenix ratings and sales numbers are so weak. People have tuned you all out.
ReplyDelete