Are National Papers Intentionally Avoiding Click Throughs?
Posted: Tuesday 25 August, 2009
Pete Goold
I'm finding it interesting how some of the national media are choosing to pick the timing for publishing stories at differing times for the print and online editions. We picked up a copy of the Telegraph this morning and a story on the front page indicates that Universities aren't yet accepting the diploma as sufficient criteria for entry, which was relevant to our Learning Management client, Perspective.
Whereas in previous years my immediate response would have been to have transcribed the piece to send to the client, my reaction now was to go straight to The Telegraph's website, only to find that the piece was (and still is, seven hours later at the time of writing) nowhere to be seen.
Obviously, the issue for newspapers at present to find ways to maximise revenue and one of the ways that a paper can position content as 'premium' and thereby increase its perceived value is by not posting it online. However, I would also argue that whilst the industry's commercial dilemma is of course plain to see, it's possible to argue that by not posting the content to the web that it actually de-values it - effectively shortening it's lifespan and, consequently, turning readers off from that publication.
Obviously The Guardian has a reputation for blazing a trail online - and recently of course it was suggested that the Guardian may even be considering going online-only, which would be an extreme move but one best suited to The Guardian of all UK broadsheets given it's global online readership.
Irrespective of any specific examples - and the above is just one of many - personally, I find that any attempt to impede thereader's ability to find information online is short-sighted and therefore offputting.