The Economist lægger yderligere indhold bag betalingsmuren

MediaWeek skrev tilbage i starten af september, at The Economist ville begynde at kræve betaling for mere af web-indholdet på economist.com.

Det ser ud til at ske nu. Jeg har lige fået følgende mail fra The Economist-folkene (mine fremhævelser):

Dear Reader,

I’d like to inform you about important changes at Economist.com.

Beginning October 13th, we will be limiting access to certain sections of our site to subscribers only. Over the past few years, Economist.com has become a hub for intelligent discussion, with news commentary, blogs and an award-winning debate series. We will continue to encourage both subscribers and non-subscribers to participate in those conversations. We will also enhance the experience we offer our most loyal readers by expanding our subscribers-only features.

Currently, all content published within the last year is free of charge. Soon, only articles and commentary published prior to the last 90 days will be accessible without a subscription. The print edition contents page, which offers a convenient way to browse articles and features from the latest issue of The Economist, will also be limited to subscribers only.

Through these complementary aspects of Economist.com, we will continue to foster intelligent discussion and debate, while enhancing the value we bring to our community of subscribers.

I hope you’ll continue to visit the site and enjoy all it has to offer.

Sincerely,

Ben Edwards, Publisher
Economist.com

På en gang kan jeg både forstå og ikke forstå The Economist. For der skal jo tjenes penge, men jeg hører til en af dem, der tror mere på link-økonomi, som MediaWatch skrev om 23. september.

Economist.com vil formentlig få færre sidevisninger, men muligvis flere penge i kassen. Men vil du for eksempel købe et abonnement på The Economist efter dette? Eller er det nemmere bare at læse en anden lignende publikation? The Economist har noget af verdens bedste indhold indenfor deres felt, så hvis nogen kan lykkes med dette, er det medierne i denne kaliber.

Uanset om man er enig eller ej, må man gå ud fra, at et magasin med dét navn bør vide en ting eller to om økonomi. Jeg er skeptisk overfor, om dette vil give flere penge og/eller kunder i butikken. Men det vil tiden vise.