Re Getting around paywalls ...

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Stephe Wilks <stephe.wilks () hepl com au>
Date: Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 12:06 AM
Subject: RE: FW: [IP] Getting around paywalls ...
To: <farber () gmail com>
Cc: <dave () farber net>


Prof Farber  --



For many of the same reasons, I believe that using the ‘get around the
paywall’ trick is less useful for an open society with a functioning fourth
estate, than the alternatives of trying to find a way to help journalism
work effectively…



My preferred option is Inkl.com
<http://www.inkl.com/newsletters/morning-edition>, which like Blendle,
provides micropayments to the publishers while giving readers access to a
wide range of newspapers around the world…  but, uses the digital content
rather than the print version of the stories and – more importantly for me
in a world lacking diverse voices – has a feature called Dive Deeper, which
tries to bring in multiple perspectives from a range of global news sources.



I believe there are others as well – I think the important thing is that,
if you support the existence of the fourth estate, it’s important to help
find a way to fund its ongoing capability!



--  Stephe

*From:* Dave Farber [mailto:farber () gmail com]
*Sent:* Tuesday, 25 April 2017 3:13 AM
*To:* ip <ip () listbox com>
*Subject:* [IP] Getting around paywalls ...






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



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