Local News sites "paywalls?"

[Bletchleyite]

The thing is, I would pay a monthly subscription to a local news outlet if it was reasonably priced. My local paper wants £50/year for digital only though. I read a handful of articles a year in it. Arguably I might read more if I had a subscription but it just seems steep for what it is. For context, a subscription to The Independent digital is £66/year.

There is a company that's trying that with primarily email newsletters but also a website with higher quality local journalism, and a paywall for some but not all articles. The Liverpool version is called "The Post" (in a nod to the former morning version of the Echo, which was an evening paper) but they appear to be trying it in a few cities. I don't know how well it's working for them though.

 

[styles]

There is a company that's trying that with primarily email newsletters but also a website with higher quality local journalism, and a paywall for some but not all articles. The Liverpool version is called "The Post" (in a nod to the former morning version of the Echo, which was an evening paper) but they appear to be trying it in a few cities. I don't know how well it's working for them though.

I'll have to see if there's anything similar going on around here.

And I would gladly pay for fewer but higher quality articles. A lot of the local papers are filled with frankly mundane stories about crashes on the A55 causing short delays, opposition to a new dozen houses being built (there's always opposition), or temporary speed limits on the bridge.

We had Will Hayward for a while but he sort of outgrew Wales Online, which largely means they're back to not having great investigative journalism again. His newsletter is £5/month. Given the areas it covers that might be worth a sub, I'll think about that!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

The editor of Reach plc's Huddersfield Daily Examiner aka Yorkshire Live, who angrily denies that his clickbait is clickbait, is one Wayne Ankers. I am not going to make fun of his name.

However, if one was to write to him formally, then etiquette requires that the correct way of addressing the envelope would be to use the initial and surname...

 

[WelshBluebird]

The thing is, I would pay a monthly subscription to a local news outlet if it was reasonably priced. My local paper wants £50/year for digital only though. I read a handful of articles a year in it. Arguably I might read more if I had a subscription but it just seems steep for what it is. For context, a subscription to The Independent digital is £66/year.

Worth remembeirng that buying a paper each day is a lot more than £50 a year.

What we expect to pay for a lot of this stuff has crashed right down thanks to the internet.

Music in in the same boat where you used to pay a tenner just for one album and now its a tenner a month for all the music you can possible want.

But at the end of the day the costs and staff still have to be paid for. Thats the issue.

 

[styles]

Worth remembeirng that buying a paper each day is a lot more than £50 a year.

It is, but I wouldn't buy a paper every day. Never have done and never will.

I have an FT subscription because I like the in depth global articles. Also a Private Eye subscription because it's one of the last bastions of truly investigative journalism. But largely my domestic news comes from listening to Radio 4 and watching certain bits of TV, and has done for as long as I've been alive.

What we expect to pay for a lot of this stuff has crashed right down thanks to the internet.

To an extent but some of it has become more expensive in real terms. If I wanted local news when I was a teenager, I'd get it in the form of a free newspaper through the front door. At that point I wasn't paying a penny for local news (in fact I was the one delivering the papers!) So I don't think it's surprising people don't want to pay £50/year for what is largely boring court reports of drink drivers and graffiti, and hearing what the neighbours think of the new 20mph speed limit, which you can find out on Facebook/Nextdoor/etc anyway.

Music in in the same boat where you used to pay a tenner just for one album and now its a tenner a month for all the music you can possible want.

I think that's quite different because when you buy a CD or a record or whatever you actually own it. Whereas paying for Spotify, the moment you stop paying, you lose access to your music. Well ok they have a free version with ads, but then it's funded by ads and that's fine. I have been contemplating going back to buying music outright though.

But at the end of the day the costs and staff still have to be paid for. Thats the issue.

Of course. But I think it's one of those areas where they can price themselves out of it. A hundred people willing to pay a quid a month to a local newspaper is better than ten people willing to pay a fiver for it. People may be willing to pay more if the quality of journalism was higher. It's local journalism so we're not expecting exceptional breaking news, but a 'live coverage' of yet another crash on the A55, where the updates are just copy and paste Twitter posts from the police and ambulances services doesn't really seem worth it. I suppose it's chicken and egg.

 

[jon0844]

Even the BBC is now doing quality journalism. Ironically, the BBC isn't reliant on advertising and gets funding that the local press can only dream of.

5 hours ago - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2r2qdj8zwo

Police incident closes section of guided busway​

A section of the Luton-Dunstable guided busway has been closed after what the bus company described as a police incident.

Arriva Bedfordshire said the busway was shut in both directions between Luton Interchange and Chaul End Lane, Luton.

Several services were being diverted via Hatters Way and Clifton Road would not be served, it added.

Bedfordshire Police is yet to release any details.

Now you could argue that it's good to know, but without more information it's pretty useless and just someone padding out a report of a closure that you might get on a travel website.

Local 'paper' websites are full of stuff like this, and they don't update or delete the stories so often they appear high up on a feed even if the incident was days or weeks ago.

 

[TheSmiths82]

This seems to be a Reach PLC thing, I tend to avoid any Reach sites but I do like to read some Manchester Evening News article. The trick is to always copy the URL into a private browsing URL or even a dedicated browser for that purpose.

 

[Andyh82]

One story recently on my local paper site was “Major shake up for local bus services” - the story was about how disabled pass holders will now be able to travel for free before 0930, but the headline makes it much bigger so more people click

You often get stories about tv schedules that suggest more than what is happening, ‘Coronation Street axed’ meaning it’s just not on one night because they are showing football, ‘Susanna Reid replaced on GMB’ meaning she’s just on holiday, stories about soaps that make it sound like it’s a real life story about the actor or the production, but in reality is about the storyline. Stories about The Chase ‘Bradley Walsh makes shocking announcement’ which suggest something big but in reality is just a bit of banter on the show. Of course none of these are local stories in any case.

Stories like “Major district road to close” where the word district is used to mean it’s just about in the paper’s coverage area, but in an obscure area most people won’t be interested in

Then you’ve got the weather ones, ‘Exact date the UK to bit hit by snow bomb’ meaning one flake of snow is due to fall in the highlands of Scotland.

The blatant advertising ones ‘We try out McDonalds new burger and you won’t believe what we thought”

I wonder what the so called journalists think having to pump out this endless drivel

 

[TheSmiths82]

One story recently on my local paper site was “Major shake up for local bus services” - the story was about how disabled pass holders will now be able to travel for free before 0930, but the headline makes it much bigger so more people click

You often get stories about tv schedules that suggest more than what is happening, ‘Coronation Street axed’ meaning it’s just not on one night because they are showing football, ‘Susanna Reid replaced on GMB’ meaning she’s just on holiday, stories about soaps that make it sound like it’s a real life story about the actor or the production, but in reality is about the storyline. Stories about The Chase ‘Bradley Walsh makes shocking announcement’ which suggest something big but in reality is just a bit of banter on the show. Of course none of these are local stories in any case.

Stories like “Major district road to close” where the word district is used to mean it’s just about in the paper’s coverage area, but in an obscure area most people won’t be interested in

Then you’ve got the weather ones, ‘Exact date the UK to bit hit by snow bomb’ meaning one flake of snow is due to fall in the highlands of Scotland.

The blatant advertising ones ‘We try out McDonalds new burger and you won’t believe what we thought”

I wonder what the so called journalists think having to pump out this endless drivel

I am guessing AI does a lot of these days. It has got to the point where I just use the MEN for the headlines, and if it is a story I might be interested in I try and find another source for it. I know journalism costs money but there has to be another way. It has got to the point where Reach PLC sites are barely usable. I just don't what the answer is but while Reach PLC produce such drivel and also own the Express I just can't support paying for a subscription.

 

[Oxfordblues]

I remember when the MEN was a 36-page broadsheet with dozens of stories each day from Manchester, Salford and surrounding towns. There were six editions daily, plus two "pinks" on Saturdays. That was 50 years ago. In retrospect, those were the glory days of local journalism.

 

[dgl]

One thing that is sort of interesting with our local paper, the Dorset Echo, is that they do have a decently sized headquarters out on the Granby industrial estate so some people think they are a bigger paper than they actually are, in reality it's a printing site for multiple Newsquest publications and Dorset Echo will be one of the smaller ones.

 

[MP33]

There was a reporter for local papers. I think that he is not writing now. His content, especially editorials. Gave a greater meaning, to the phrase. Chip on my shoulder.

 

[jon0844]

There was a reporter for local papers. I think that he is not writing now. His content, especially editorials. Gave a greater meaning, to the phrase. Chip on my shoulder.

Without wishing to insult the new generation of journalists who all likely had visions of breaking newsworthy stories to the world and exposing corruption etc, they're stuck in jobs where they are measured on clicks/engagement and revenue earned. They have targets on stories to publish every single day, and are under immense pressure.

I feel for them all, especially as many will be doing the job that they hate because they need to try and gain experience to hopefully one day get a 'proper' reporting job.

 

[Andyh82]

We gave up on our printed weekly newspaper when most of the local features were dropped as it was filled with just loads of syndicated content. Columns on entertainment, health, gardening etc with no local link. The letters page was just posts from their social media about national politics.

The ‘news’ seemed to be dominated by industry stories like a solicitors getting a new partner or a firm getting a new contract, all really dull stuff.

 

[High Dyke]

I've not read a paper, local or national for many a year now, and don't feel an urge to start doing so either.

I was just on the BBC News website, which contains links to local news outlets. One headline that caught my eye is purportedly from my local paper.

It is a link to a story about the local MP bemoaning the lack of a direct train service to/from London. As my town, and that of said local paper, has a frequent service to/from London this slightly mystified me. The story actually relates to the lack of a direct service from a completely different town in Lincolnshire - approximately forty miles away.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The story actually relates to the lack of a direct service from a completely different town in Lincolnshire - approximately forty miles away.

Market Rasen, presumably?

 

[Statto]

Reach PLC sites are the worst sites now, & they weren't that great in the first place, but the stuff they're putting up behind the premium wall on the local sites has the words, scrapping & barrel, on my mind.

 

[High Dyke]

Market Rasen, presumably?

Close. Gainsborough, apparently.

 

[DunsBus]

One that always amuses me is "x dies as tributes flood in". Not only is it nonsensical from a grammar point of view but it also implies that as the tributes were being paid, the person then died!

 

[MP33]

Michael Parkinson, who started on a local paper. Described how a local dignitary would get a full page obituary. He then stated, you would not get that now. For the second coming.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Michael Parkinson, who started on a local paper. Described how a local dignitary would get a full page obituary. He then stated, you would not get that now. For the second coming.

But they will print a double page feature headed 'is this the second coming?' which eventually concludes with a 'no', or ultimately explains it refers to a second postal delivery that week.

 

[Bayum]

Dislike news being hidden behind paywalls? Click here!

 

[jon0844]

Michael Parkinson, who started on a local paper. Described how a local dignitary would get a full page obituary. He then stated, you would not get that now. For the second coming.

You might get that if they produce it as a sponsored feature and someone pays to have their product or service advertised alongside.

 

[londonbridge]

Dislike news being hidden behind paywalls? Click here!

Been using the site linked to in the quote for a while now and find it fails to work on an increasing number of articles and websites.

 

[Trackman]

From b3ta.com:



AI description:

This image shows a retro teletext screen from BBC’s old information service Ceefax.


At the top, there’s the classic Ceefax header with the BBC logo, page number (P109), and a timestamp (“Sun 30 Jan 22:19/23”). Below that is a news headline in yellow text:


“Council debates opening hours of public toilets in town centre.”


Under the headline, a short news summary appears in blocky, pixelated text, typical of teletext displays.


The lower half of the screen is dominated by a red-bordered box containing a humorous “paywall” message. It reads:

• To continue reading, send £1.99 by cheque or postal order
• Payable to “Ceefax Paid Services” at a London PO Box
• Then wait 28 days for payment to clear and press “REVEAL”

This is clearly a parody, since Ceefax was a free service and the idea of mailing a cheque and waiting 28 days humorously exaggerates how slow and outdated the system would be compared to modern digital paywalls.


Overall, the image blends nostalgia for early digital media with satire about paid content access.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The story actually relates to the lack of a direct service from a completely different town in Lincolnshire - approximately forty miles away.

Market Rasen, presumably?

Close. Gainsborough, apparently.

Fairly sure it was the Gainsborough area MP (= Sir Edward Leigh) talking about LNER services (not) calling at Market Rasen station.

 

[MP33]

Retch Group today have advised that a person has been hit by a train between Shenfield and Chelmsford and all Greater Anglia routes are severely disrupted.

Greater Anglia, advise that it was Witham and the Southend Victoria and Southminster services are running as normal. Also, the services to Cambridge and Stansted Airport are unaffected.