Getting around paywalls ...

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Chuck McManis <chuck.mcmanis () gmail com>
> Date: April 24, 2017 at 1:01:45 PM EDT
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Cc: ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: Getting around paywalls ...
>
> Roger Bohn's recent post on monopoly power included this common bit of advice :
>
> "Suggestion: If a newspaper is refusing to let you read an article, you can often get it by searching for it (on 
> Google - irony alert, see one of the stories below), and visiting from the search result."
>
> I am not picking on Roger, it is fairly common advice, but would like to point out some better solutions. Sites like 
> blendle.com which will let you read (and pay for) single articles on the NY Times, Economist, WSJ, etc without having 
> to subscribe to those publications. I have no association with Blendle other than as a satisfied customer. And unlike 
> paywalled version of the articles, the articles on Blendle are scanned from the original publications and have no 
> additional advertising or other distractions. Money is held in escrow until you buy permanent access to an article 
> and doesn't evaporate if you don't use the service. There is a generous refund policy if you feel the .19 or .09 you 
> payed to read an article wasn't worth it.
>
> I understand that people enjoy reading quality journalism for free. However, that is not sustainable and available 
> internet advertising options do not provide the revenue that print advertising once did. As a result, market forces 
> are pushing paywalls harder and harder to the point where it will is becoming an existential choice for a publication 
> to either enforce a hard paywall or cease operation. 
>
> My issue with that is that while I'm happy to pay for an article out of the NY Times (for example) I do not like to 
> pay for access to the NY Times for a month where I hardly read it. And that is where alternatives like Blendle come 
> in. They allow a publication to make sustainable amounts of revenue on their articles, they align the publication's 
> revenue side of the house with the readership (we won't pay for bad articles) and editorial side.
>
> I encourage your readership to create an account with Blendle and throw $5 or $10 into it and read the articles you 
> want, guilt free, on these publications. See if it meets your needs and helps us move good journalism and 'real' news 
> into a business model that works for the 21st century.
>
> --Chuck



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170424131307:44E3B6D0-2911-11E7-A39C-A7EC56E63C44
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com