Top newspaper execs closeted themselves in an O’Hare airport hotel meeting room today, trying to figure out how to charge for their online content. Note: antitrust counsel was in the room; no word about whether he was bound and gagged.
As a consumer, I like free. As a content pro, I know that “free” has cost many of my friends their jobs — and that “free” would not have produced journalistic accounts of this meeting. I’m uncomfortable when industry groups convene in private to discuss whether and how to charge for their products. (Imagine if Exxon, Texaco, and Chevron had a meeting where pricing strategy was discussed.) That’s why there were lawyers there.
But on balance, I guess I’m rooting for them. Reliable, curated information has a commercial value. I’m just not sure I trust them to set the right price on that value.