The era of the firewall seems over for most media organizations, but a few have kept them in order to shield subscription revenue. WSJ.com houses a great deal of the Wall Street Journal's content and then some.
Now FT.com's managing director is advocating a two-tier service, with some material kept back through registration and subscription. The free-for-all model has been permitted for too long, says Rob Grimshaw. Moving forward means providing some content free and some for a fee, he notes.
Grimshaw is arguing that, with the uncertainty of the direction of Web content, it is prudent to hold out for a revenue stream. At the moment it's presumed people will pay for premium content of the sort Financial Times produces.
