Media writer and TV host Peter Funt argues in the Wall Street Journal (media with a paywall) that history has shown people will pay for their media, even when it seems the odds are stacked against the concept. Just as television and radio have proven the case, so can newspapers.
Sure, he says, there are obstacles: A raft of free content abounds online, for instance, and there are aggregators galore scraping the Internet to make it difficult to sell your style of curation. Funt says the industry has to end the debate and just get on with it.
"But the central question on which industry observers seem to dwell—will consumers pay?—has already been answered many times in media history. Yes," he writes.
Sure, he says, there are obstacles: A raft of free content abounds online, for instance, and there are aggregators galore scraping the Internet to make it difficult to sell your style of curation. Funt says the industry has to end the debate and just get on with it.
"But the central question on which industry observers seem to dwell—will consumers pay?—has already been answered many times in media history. Yes," he writes.
