A personal perspective on paywalls.

Part 2: A Journey To 100% Paid Digital Content

My mates love their Footy!

I've lost count the number of times at a party the conversation has turned to a footy finals match a decade or three ago, and the lads relive the key moments play by play, as if it was yesterday! 

To be honest, I struggle to grasp their fanaticism.

Fortunately, I have learnt when to nod or grunt out of politeness, in indulgence of their absolute obsession with the sport.

Remember every moment of that 1986 Grand Final? Nope, me neither!

So you can imagine the level of ridicule I got from the guys, when in 2011, my job as a Project Manager was to implement a digital paywall onto the HeraldSun.com.au - instantly placing all that awesome footy and sports content behind a digital paywall.

This was at the time, one of the world's first mass market tabloid newspapers to set up a digital paywall so the project was reasonably high profile and closely followed within the publishing industry (as well as by my mates).

My mates could not only quote the first and last name of every football journalist at the Herald Sun, they were also able to tell me when and where each journalist made guest TV and radio appearances so they could be as up to date with every bit of footy opinion and news as possible.

I found the best response to their paywall concerns was pretty simple. When I said:

"So...digital advertising dollars aren't what they used to be, and if no one pays for content, then publishers won't be able to afford their salaries, they'll be out of a job, so no awesome content."

They unanimously replied “Oh, right, fair enough then" - after which the conversation turned straight back to the 1986 Grand Final without missing a beat. They didn't protest anymore, but I'm not sure they signed up either.

Looking to my own experience, one of my pet grievances with digital project management is the ability to dodge a bullet even if you deliver a completely broken product. So long as you keep your stakeholders informed of the issues, communicate well, deliver on time, on budget and in-scope, then you succeed! 

But when project managers have no influence, stake or accountability in the conceptual architecture of a project, it allows them to wash their hands when a product is misaligned to consumer needs. Something I've experienced directly.

For all of the effort, teamwork, collaboration and capital; I still can’t get my head around how the only payment option we implemented was a monthly subscription model.

Despite having a personal disposition to disruption and innovation, I never once questioned that we were implementing a payment system that was actually more restrictive than Print for a consumer. 

I am not characterising this project as "broken", but rather that we only delivered one piece of the digital payments puzzle. What is broken is that 8 years after the project, subscription remains almost exclusively the only digital content payment option globally. 

Digital is supposed to epitomise experimentation and innovation - but when it comes to commercial options for news content, print still offers more choice, convenience and flexibility that digital.

I enjoy a well thought out piece of content over a cheap headline any day. 

I want my politicians, senior business leaders, religious leaders and all elements of society held to account by strong, well funded, independent news organisations (in combination with our legal institutions).

I want to read deep into a story and not just the first paragraph.

I want my news to be backed by an organisation upholding proper editorial standards vs deceptive click bait, but I fear we are adopting the latter with ever increasing frequency.

Digital journalism needs to be profitable so the industry can attract and retain the best talent.

And just like in print, I propose that 100% of digital news content should be directly paid and accounted for. 

Paywalls are not the enemy, we just need to think about them differently, make them easier to overcome and change industry terminologies e.g. payment options vs paywall.

The best opportunity for 100% paid digital news content and sustainable journalism will occur through the alignment and experimentation of start-ups working from the bottom up in conjunction with top tier publishers, working from the top down. 

In this 7 part series, I will publish my own insights and experiences across corporate media and startups suggesting a strategy for achieving 100% digital paid content in detail. 

I welcome and encourage all debate. Please share your thoughts and experiences. I'm keen to hear from anyone, whether in agreement or stark disagreement.

Oh, and I do like listening to my mates banter about what the Chief Football Writer wrote last night, even though I actually have no idea what they are talking about!

To read more in this 'A Journey to 100% Paid Digital Content' strategy:

Part 1 - The bulk of printed news is consumer-paid, so why is digital different?

Part 3: Consumers are smart. The tendency to "leave & search" vs. "stay & pay".

?Part 4: So you expect to read my content for free, yet maintain full control?

Part 5 - Climbing a brick wall is easier with a ladder. Overcoming a paywall is easier with steps.

?Part 6 - A rising tide floats all boats

Part 7 - Hold someone accountable to make it happen.

About Chris Kerrisk:

Chris is a seasoned digital executive with over 16 years experience in media, banking, operations, project management and IT.

After a 6 year stint with NewsCorp, Chris went on to co-found global startup Unlockd Media (Unlockd), an advertising technology company which rewarded telco subscribers with subsidised phone plans for engaging with advertisers.

Chris currently resides in Queensland and is Co-founder of Cérge, a communications platform for organisations to provide empathetic service to customers with disability.

Chris is passionate about making digital journalism profitable and can be reached at info@cerge.app