It Looks Like the Herald is Going Paywall

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#2078235 24-Aug-2018 07:42

The moment a Paywall becomes a reality, I'll find my news elsewhere - I expect that the TV news sites will be come that much more engaging online (they're already pretty good) and will be the go-to for many.

THe Herald is having a laugh if they think they won't get hurt by this...their readership numbers will eventually tank and it'll be another one bites the dust, I think.

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tripp

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#2078237 24-Aug-2018 07:51

I bet they still plaster ads all over the place even if you did pay them. Their site is awful to use on mobile etc now with full screen ads that affect scrolling.

ockel

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#2078240 24-Aug-2018 08:05

Both NZ Herald and Stuff have to introduce something that will see their businesses continue as going concerns.

The massive drop in profitability and cashflow for both businesses is not good. And NZME, despite having radio to fall back on, has turned operating cashflow negative - and is borrowing to pay dividends. Not a trend that can continue.

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JeremyNzl

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#2078249 24-Aug-2018 08:14

For many years now Stuff.co.nz and NZherald were my goto.

Lately, I find myself reading the Otago daily times Odt.co.nz (my region) but it has well written and researched local and national news with a good update frequency

Taubin

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#2078251 24-Aug-2018 08:28

tripp:

I bet they still plaster ads all over the place even if you did pay them. Their site is awful to use on mobile etc now with full screen ads that affect scrolling.

I use Firefox Mobile and ublock origin for this exact reason. It works just the same as the desktop version, with the same add-ons. I also avoid NZH, but that's just person preference.

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dolsen

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#2078252 24-Aug-2018 08:33

Since they did the website redesign, I stopped going to the Herald as it was so bad it was no longer worth it. At this point in time, it will no longer affect me if they do make it pay walled. Currently, there are many other better free options still available. Possibly that may not always be the case but for now it is.

alasta

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#2078254 24-Aug-2018 08:34

ockel:

Both NZ Herald and Stuff have to introduce something that will see their businesses continue as going concerns.

The massive drop in profitability and cashflow for both businesses is not good. And NZME, despite having radio to fall back on, has turned operating cashflow negative - and is borrowing to pay dividends. Not a trend that can continue.

And NZME's radio revenue is unsustainable because their audience share is skewed towards older people. The under 35 demographic is listening to Mediaworks stations, or the resurgent Radio NZ.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I believe that the NZME/Fairfax audience is generally not the type of people who would pay for premium content, however their web audience share is so large that maybe they only need a small share of that audience to be willing to dip into their wallets.

Ultimately if you want to help to fund quality journalism then you have the option of crowd funding Newsroom, but in terms of audience share their site is really failing to connect. Even RNZ's web offering has a relatively small audience share compared with NZME/Fairfax. Are New Zealanders really still interested in in depth journalism?

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ockel

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#2078259 24-Aug-2018 08:50

dolsen:

Since they did the website redesign, I stopped going to the Herald as it was so bad it was no longer worth it. At this point in time, it will no longer affect me if they do make it pay walled. Currently, there are many other better free options still available. Possibly that may not always be the case but for now it is.

Audiences dropped by about 10% - gonna guess that plenty of people voted with their feet when they didnt like the new style.

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tdgeek

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#2078261 24-Aug-2018 08:52

The Herald was always paywalled. Now its free and that model clearly doesn't work. As a poster above says he will look for another free option, that is the way of today's world. I'm still waiting for free petrol, power, and groceries so I can choose between free and a paywall...

ockel

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#2078262 24-Aug-2018 08:53

alasta:

ockel:

Both NZ Herald and Stuff have to introduce something that will see their businesses continue as going concerns.

The massive drop in profitability and cashflow for both businesses is not good. And NZME, despite having radio to fall back on, has turned operating cashflow negative - and is borrowing to pay dividends. Not a trend that can continue.

And NZME's radio revenue is unsustainable because their audience share is skewed towards older people. The under 35 demographic is listening to Mediaworks stations, or the resurgent Radio NZ.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I believe that the NZME/Fairfax audience is generally not the type of people who would pay for premium content, however their web audience share is so large that maybe they only need a small share of that audience to be willing to dip into their wallets.

Ultimately if you want to help to fund quality journalism then you have the option of crowd funding Newsroom, but in terms of audience share their site is really failing to connect. Even RNZ's web offering has a relatively small audience share compared with NZME/Fairfax. Are New Zealanders really still interested in in depth journalism?

The paywall will show that. Apparently it'll only be for the in-depth stories. Both Stuff and NZHerald have introduced their premium depth stories (and video) over the last year. The video I think will continue to be free as its a soft entry into broadcasting vs the snippets of OneNewsNow etc

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Dunnersfella

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#2078264 24-Aug-2018 08:58

Once the paywall turns up, the app gets deleted.

It's as easy as that.

There will always be a free option on-line... there will always be interns desperate to use their journalism qualifications for 'exposure and experience' - and they can be manipulated by companies to re-write press releases etc.

NZME is going to struggle, MediaWorks have had their challenges - it's a truly cut-throat industry and there's next to no fat to trim from anywhere.

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vexxxboy

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#2078266 24-Aug-2018 09:00

i pay a subscription to the Washington post, but that is a real Newspaper and worth every penny . The Herald not so much.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

kryptonjohn

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#2078273 24-Aug-2018 09:15

Herald's print circulation has been dwindling away for some time. If they paywall the so-called "premium" content it may actually improve their web edition. At the moment it's hard to sift out the news from the magazine style crapola which I think is what they call "premium".

If not, I'd say the Herald brand will soon be gone. Hardly anyone's going to pay good money for the dreck they put out.

Fairfax is even worse.

Hopefully this will provide an opportunity for a decent "just the facts" web based NZ news service to emerge, without a litter of pup reporters fresh out if university trying to interpret/spin the news for us.

grimwulf

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#2078274 24-Aug-2018 09:17

Similar view from me - only occasionally go to the Herald and generally only if linked there.

I do feel for NZ news sites - they're competing increasingly with global news outlets that have much more scale. The writing has been on the wall for some time - there's money to be paid for quality NZ journalism, and also for some NZ niche sites, but there's simply too many other sources of news to generate the value needed for someone to actively dip into their pocket.

I support a few sites through Press Patron, but I couldn't see myself doing so for Herald or Stuff or similar - there's just too much click-bait non-news versus real journalistic content for me.

DaveDog

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#2078288 24-Aug-2018 09:23

JimmyH:

Article here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/106499453/nzme-reports-52-per-cent-decline-in-profits-in-half-year-results

"NZME will adopt a “freemium” model with day-to-day news and current affairs provided free of charge, and premium in-depth analysis and opinion available on subscription."

Which has me slightly puzzled. From my (increasingly occasional) visits to the Herald website and the other thread in this forum about stupid Herald and Stuff articles, I'm not sure what the "premium" content is that the Herald has that they think people will be willing to part with cash for. They struggle to get basic facts and accurate reporting of the simplest stories right, and mostly seem carry advertorial or opinion content from people pushing barrows in lieu of any actual news.

I'm curious - would anyone here subscribe to the Herald and pay a monthly fee to access the current range and quality of reporting?

I for one wouldn't pay and hate to think what premium content is going to be classed as... I'm picking anything that remotely resembles news will be "premium" and the free stuff will be the stuff like "Naz launches own TV show, Pro gamer dumps hot girlfriend and Woman dumps fiance over porn habit..."

No great loss if I never read an article of theirs again...

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