Why does this idea persist?
By Steve Outing on Jun 16, 2008 in News
How to save newspapers … NOT!
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/socialstudies.php
Why does this idea persist? I realize that the “free content” model is not paying out as quickly as the newspaper industry wants it to — thus necessitating drastic cutbacks in response to the downward revenue spiral — but this author’s suggestion of newspaper publishers banding together and withholding news content unless consumers pay will just ACCELERATE the industry’s decline.
Fortunately, I don’t think the idea will ever get a serious try-out. (Past attempts over the last decade-plus have failed, other than for niche publishers with high-value, not easily found elsewhere content. Why beat a dead horse?)
on 
On Jun 16, 2008, Chris Amico
said:
As the author notes, newspapers banding together as gatekeepers to their content would most likely be illegal under antitrust laws. But I think there’s a deeper issue here: He suggests as models industries that are hated by their customers. Cable TV is effectively a street racket, saying, “I’ll give you what you want if you pay for a bunch of crap you don’t.” It’s a strong-arm tactic, and, as an industry, we don’t need to give people any more reason to dislike us.