The transformation to a digital culture is only part of the newspaper's challenge. The bigger transformation is to a digital revenue model that will yield a sustainable business.
Enders Analysis has examined some of the metrics of the transition and its conclusions are eye-opening:
1. A paywall subscriber is only worth one-quarter to one-third of a newspaper subscriber. Even if every subscriber converted to the paywall, there would be a problem of scale.
2. Paywalls will not be able to expand the revenue base by expanding the audience, due to the abundant source of free content online, in broadcasting and print.
3. Newspapers will have to re-examine their scale to retain their bearings. Rather than a 500-journalist operation, they will be looking at 200-journalist operations (the report is written in England --- thus the large newsroom numbers).
Parenthetically, Canada's largest newspaper today hired one of its rival's former editors to be its new vice president of business development. Ed Greenspon, former editor in chief of the Globe and Mail, has surfaced a year later at the Toronto Star, where he will work on development of new business models and write a weekly column.
Enders Analysis has examined some of the metrics of the transition and its conclusions are eye-opening:
1. A paywall subscriber is only worth one-quarter to one-third of a newspaper subscriber. Even if every subscriber converted to the paywall, there would be a problem of scale.
2. Paywalls will not be able to expand the revenue base by expanding the audience, due to the abundant source of free content online, in broadcasting and print.
3. Newspapers will have to re-examine their scale to retain their bearings. Rather than a 500-journalist operation, they will be looking at 200-journalist operations (the report is written in England --- thus the large newsroom numbers).
Parenthetically, Canada's largest newspaper today hired one of its rival's former editors to be its new vice president of business development. Ed Greenspon, former editor in chief of the Globe and Mail, has surfaced a year later at the Toronto Star, where he will work on development of new business models and write a weekly column.
