Be prepared to pay for your news

By Michelle Cochrane

We’ve heard it all before: print newspapers are on the path to extinction and will be non-existent in as early as five years.

It is unknown what the newspaper will look like in the future, but people will always rely on news sources for information. The newspaper industry is evolving, not dying and we need to figure out how to change with it, readers included.

Advances in technology now give readers more access to news anywhere, at anytime through the use of tablets, smart phones and computers. This digital platform offers readers a more in-depth experience that print is unable to, delivering not only text but audio, video and multiple photographs for a single story. If that’s not more bang for your dollar, than I don’t know what is.

With this new level of quick content comes a greater demand for online news.  This effortless access needs to come with a price, but unfortunately the industry seems to be paying the toll.

According to a survey done by Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC) and Vision Critical, Canadians are greatly opposed to fees for online content.  Eighty-one percent said they would be unwilling to pay, while only four per cent agreed to the fee.

The collaborative survey also showed that 85 per cent of Internet users in Canada get news online at least once a month.

If online news is so desirable and preferred, why are readers reluctant to pay for access?

The rise of the Internet has made infinite amounts of information available for free since the 1990’s. At the time, newspapers made the grave mistake to offer websites that gave away their valuable content for free. This left little motivation for loyal readers to continue paying for subscriptions.

It doesn’t matter whether you are reading your news on paper or portable device news is news and should not be devalued simply because it is easily accessible.

Days and weeks are invested into producing quality news stories and this hard work should not be given away for free.

News is provided so you, a citizen of society, can make informed decisions and stay up-to-date on local, national and international events and issues that affect you in countless ways.