Behind the newspaper paywall – lessons in charging for online content: a comparative analysis of why Australian newspapers are stuck in the purgatorial space between digital and print

Abstract

This article examines one response to the financial ‘crisis’ of print newspapers addressing the rise of digital paywall systems to monetise journalism. It analyses selected daily mastheads’ paywalls in the United States, Britain and Australia, comparing the type, pricing and audience uptake. This article reviews scholarly and industry literature to identify international newspaper paywall trends and considers these in the Australian context. The article finds paywalls are becoming the norm, with metered paywalls favoured over hard paywalls; paywall prices are increasing, after initial reductions, to offset digital subscriptions cannibalising print subscription revenues. As audiences and advertising migrate from print to our screens, a broader view is required. The argument here is that, in the short term, revenues generated from Australian digital subscriptions and digital advertising alone cannot sustain newsrooms, but the cost of print together with falling hardcopy circulations suggest digital paywalls must not be overlooked. In the immediate, Australia’s major newspapers are stuck in a purgatorial space between paywalls and print.