http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/02/read-for-free-pay-for-print-or-stuff056.html
As I have added digital reading to my school collections, I have run into the crisis facing publishers. How to make money? Some of the current publishing discourse sets some context for the impacts of technology changes on libraries and reading. As commented by Karen Lindsay's post to the BCTLA Forum, the Amazon Kindle is creating maneuvering in the copyright wars.
I've had reference material online for years now and my print reference collection. A few examples: Scientific American is being read when I distribute internally as a PDF. I can also link direct to articles via Ebsco. I added 'Consumer Reports ONHealth' for our health sciences and home economics classes. I added the 'NewYorker' for its book reviews, literary content and publishing excellence. I also now get some photography, spanish and technology eZines via the Zinio.com service. I use the colour pdf images and special editions to promote the KSS Library services overall. Faculty are pleased with the diversity and content acquisition but our students don't read any of it unless it is part of webquest or project based lesson. Girls read 'People', 'Seventeen', and 'InStyle'. The only 'boys' title read is 'Snowboarding', 'Road and Track' and 'Bike'. Kids are not consuming print, eBooks, or even Audiobooks. They are watching and listening. The bulk of media activity is Facebook, Gaming, YouTube, MySpace and iTunes...all of which demand very little reading. is shrinking rapidly but what is a TL to do about fiction and non-fiction content? I've reduced my print periodicals and increased digital magazines to target various readership within my setting.
....I digress for a minute...Recently, I have observed a huge shift in readership trends of our students. Down. The majority of kids are simply not reading. In my Grade 10-12 school, I have a small core of strong and motivated readers than continue to challenge me for more material; however, the masses are not reading- even digital content. When I have been teaching or supporting class activities, I have observed that many don't/can't even read a web page or screen with any sophistication. They Googlize everything because they 'think' it is easier or faster. These students are often are very inefficient and impatient. They would rather switch topics or thesis than dig critically. In fact, I find their information literacy skills are very poor and this is not just your low achieving students- this is all levels and ages. Many teens bristle when asked to read- anything- I suspect even all those short stories and novels they read in English classes are not actually read cover to cover. I recently met with a grade 12 girl who received an A grade on her novel project but confessed she never read the book! How many more are there like this nice girl? One positive trend is the Bookclubs or Lit Circles that go along way to infuse the wonder of the written word for teens by designing improvements in pedagogy and critical thinking. Thank the Lord for Harry Potter and Stephanie Meyer....
How do teacher-librarians adapt their selections and acquisitions in light of the drop in reading practices?
Overall, people seem to be reading less. Charlie Rose recently interviewed some major players in this issue- A conversation about the future of newspapers with Walter Isaacson of
"Time," Robert Thomson of "Wall Street Journal" and Mort Zuckerman of
"The New York Daily News".
Point taken: When asked by The New York Times a year ago about the quality of the Amazon Kindle, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, famously, that "it doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore." (It was an ironic statement, because one heard it by reading --
( Mediashift by PBS )
The discussion about micro-payments and "pay to read" goes round and
round because it ignores a basic fact. Most people, most of the time,
do not read newspapers. They view, scan and search newspapers. Selling words
to viewers, scanners and searchers is hard, but since viewers and
scanners are always background-searching for stuff they might need,
selling them stuff is much easier.
Appealing to tribes
Readers can be found in tribes, in the sense used by Terry Heaton at his PoMo Blog
and by Seth Godin in his most recent book Tribes: groups of people united by a common idea and inspired by a common leader.
In today's wired world, tribes can form, coalesce and disband in
mere days. When they form, there is an opportunity to sell them words
-- people fired up over a particular idea will be eager to learn more
about it and for that they need words. When the tribe disbands, that
big sales opportunity goes away. The best recent example happened
during the recent U.S. presidential
election, with anything with the name "Obama" on it. Obama supporters,
excited by Barack Obama's eloquence and hopeful for the idea that he
would bring change, eagerly snapped up books, newspapers and magazines
with stories of the presidential candidate. But that coalition of
tribes disbanded after the presidential election; only smaller tribes
living in niches remain.
So readers will willingly buy words delivered in different forms,
but it depends on a combination of price, convenience and timing.
Sometimes they borrow books from the library. Sometimes they buy books.
Sometimes they will even pay for access to words on the Internet -- but
more often than not, they balk at paying for words on the web. I think
the experience of TimesSelect teaches that even the New York Times doesn't have enough readers in their audience to make it scale.
The New Yorker successfully employed a 'Read for Free, Pay for Print' model
"Read for free, pay for print or stuff," on the other hand, is a
model that can, and does, deliver revenue. There's already at least one
good example of the model working in a stable market filled with reader
tribes. The New Yorker magazine currently does well by selling its print edition to a tribe of self-selected readers.
The New Yorker appeals to a high-brow reader niche. It has arguably
the most thoughtful, best crafted words appearing in any mainstream
publication and has maintained an unswerving focus on readers, with
only one brief interruption that was quickly remedied.
A recent Google search turned up the magazine's online edition,
complete with current articles, cartoons, weblogs, audio, video, slide
shows, and an extensive archive dating back to 1925. There is no
content hidden behind a pay wall.
In the magazine's printed version, it sells ads to help other people
sell "stuff." The web edition, on the other hand, mostly serves the
magazine's own house ads to sell its own "stuff." When I last checked
their home page, here's what I found tucked away in the far right
column:
1) "The New Yorker Digital Edition -- The Magazine in
your Email First Thing Monday Morning. Click here for a free trial. A
special promotion sponsored by Chevron."
2) "Give the Gift of the New Yorker." The click brings
you to "47 issues one year for $39.95 or 94 issues $69.95." And a
"Notify your recipient a subscription is on the way." You can send an
e-card with your message, and choose the style you think best.
3) Then there are seven offerings of New Yorker products and services.
4) And of course, the ever-present "Subscribe to the Print edition."
This all makes business sense because the New Yorker's target market
is made up of readers and people who define themselves as readers. The
problem for any other mass market publication that wants to sell words
is to find the readers who value the words.
One side note: The "selling stuff" component of "read for free, pay
for print or stuff" is much easier; anyone can sell stuff. For example,
Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal is now selling wine.
Most museums and other non-profits have been selling stuff to their
loyal fans -- on their websites and in their museum shops -- for years.
PBS.org understands the power of selling stuff.
Open College Textbooks
This month, we'll see the "read for free, pay for print or stuff" model get applied to another market with another tribe: Flat World Knowledge will create Open College Textbooks to cater to "reader" tribes of students in the formal education system.
In my opinion, this could signal an explosive growth opportunity for
journalism, and maybe some newspaper companies, to serve readers who
live in the world of K-12 education...more>>>>
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Also by the author: by Michael Josefowicz
Print is the Next Big Thing
I
am delighted to have the opportunity to be the new "print
correspondent" for MediaShift. Every two weeks or so I will be
reporting, discussing, opining and answering comments about how new
print technology can help untangle some of the problems facing
newspaper companies and the future of journalism. Newspaper companies
are looking for ways to profit in a new...
