Mediagazer: Stephen Glover: A good newspaper but not a good business (The Independent)

8:50 AM ET, March 21, 2011

Top News:

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Times's Online Pay Model Was Years in the Making — The discussions played out over most of 2009 amid the hum of the third floor newsroom and in the executive suites high above Times Square, consuming what seemed like countless meetings and consultants' recommendations.

Discussion: Poynter, @dangillmor, TheAustralian, @stevebuttry, Business Week and Monday Note

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

The Biggest Flaw in NYT Pay Plan: It's Backward-Looking — I didn't get a chance to write about the launch of the New York Times subscription plan last week for a number of reasons (okay, I was on a beach) but I've since read most of what others have written about it, and the general consensus seems …

Discussion: Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check, Thanks:mathewi

David Carr / Media Decoder:

Paying for The Times at SXSW — On Thursday, I had lunch with a pal at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference, that annual crush of media and technology people that descends on the lovely town of Austin. When he offered to pay, I said, “You don't need to do that.” — “That's all right,” he said.

Discussion: Soup

Subtraction.com:

What the NYT Pay Wall Really Costs — New York TimesFinally delivering on a long held promise, The New York Times announced yesterday that it would debut a ‘pay wall’ around its digital products, first immediately for users in Canada and then at the end of the month for the U.S. and other countries.

Discussion: @tummler10

Joseph Tartakoff / paidContent:

How The NYT's Paywall Compares To Those Of Other Big Papers — When the New York Times puts up its paywall later this month, it will be the fifth newspaper among the top 50 by circulation in the U.S. to charge for online access; a sixth, its sibling Boston Globe, is expected to do so later this year.

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:
NYTimes' “Fair” Prices

Discussion: Lifehacker

Peter Preston / Guardian: Paywall or no paywall, print is still what pays

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Rush of Events Gives Foreign News a Top Priority — Propelled by revolution in the Middle East and radiation in Japan, television news coverage of foreign events this year is at the highest level since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 10 years ago, news executives in the United States say.

Discussion: Poynter and Inside Cable News

Agence France Presse:

Two AFP journalists missing in Libya since Friday — TOBRUK, Libya — Agence France-Presse journalists Dave Clark and Roberto Schmidt, have been missing since Saturday morning in Libya while working in the eastern Tobruk region, the agency said Sunday. — Clark, a 38-year-old reporter …

Discussion: New York Observer, Press Gazette, Associated Press, nppa.org, On Media's Blog and Runnin' Scared

Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:

At Thrillist, Mingling Commerce and Content — The Web site Thrillist publishes daily e-mails aimed at a young, male audience, with tips about activities in various cities. But along with that content, it offers separate e-mails selling clothes and deals at local businesses …

Discussion: eMedia Vitals

Rupal Parekh / AdAge:

Groupon CEO: We Placed Too Much Trust in Agency for Super Bowl Ads — Andrew Mason Says Group-Buying Site ‘Turned Off Part of Its Brain’ When Working With CP&B in Aim to Be ‘Edgy’ — Talk about adding insult to injury. — As if CP&B's breakup last week with one of its biggest clients …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, more at Techmeme »

David Carr / New York Times:

The Evolving Mission of Google — Today's quiz: What company derives 96 percent of its revenue from advertising, has a video platform that is currently negotiating with the National Basketball Association, a movie studio and various celebrities, and is developing a subscription service …

The Independent:

Stephen Glover: A good newspaper but not a good business — Media Studies: The Times is really back to where it was before it started the price war in 1993 — The Times had an average daily sale of 445,962 in February. The equivalent figure for The Daily Telegraph was 628,338.

Discussion: Press Gazette and Guardian