Home About Archives RSS Feed

Papers Implement Paywall; iBerkshires Still Free

Tammy Daniels

Local newspapers operated by Denver-based MediaNews Group are going behind a paywall next week. The North Adams Transcript and two of the company's Vermont papers, the Bennington Banner and the Brattleboro Reformer, announced the new subscription service on Friday.

The regional flagship, The Berkshire Eagle, is apparently not involved in this round but will likely join the smaller papers if the experiment works.

Current subscribers of the newspapers will be offered a $19.99 year fee for online access; an online only subscription will cost $59.99 a year. You'll get five page views a month before the wall appears asking you to subscribe.

MediaNews Group has been looking at implementing paywalls for nearly two years, starting first in California and Pennsylvania last year. CEO Dean Singleton said in February that traffic at those papers has stayed steady but subscriptions haven't gone up.

The company is testing this newest paywall among many of its smaller titles, all at the same subscription rate.

What will continue to be "free" are the classifieds, obituaries and social announcements, all basically paid advertising sections. You'll also be able view headlines on the home pages.

MediaNews isn't alone in trying to find a way to make online news pay. The industry's been hammered by high overhead, declining circulation and an online landscape that's created a banquet of news sources for readers to browse.

Here at iBerkshires.com (which has absolutely no affiliation with the local newspaper group and which is locally owned and staffed), we will continue to provide news in as timely a manner as possible and we won't make you pay to read it. In fact, the iBerkshires family is growing with the addition of some truly hyperlocal sites like www.williamstown.com that we hope you will not only read but also contribute to.

The way we access information has changed dramatically in the past decade. iBerkshires is experimenting not with paywalls but with community forums that will allow readers to contribute content — an accident, an event, a neat photo. We're also working through our Facebook pages and Twitter feed to encourage readers to comment on and inform their neighbors on what's happening.

If you like what we're doing, then thank our advertisers by clicking on their ads and using their services. You'll be supporting local businesses, the local economy, and local news.

Tags: paywall, subscription      

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

Featured Stories
Scoil Rince Bréifne Ó Ruairc Participated in North American Open Championships
Pittsfield Police Participating in US 20 Speed Enforcement Project
MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC
Dalton ADA Committee Explores Expanding
Milne Public Library Trustees Announce New Library Director
BCC, Mill Town Partner to Support Philanthropy Through 40 Under Forty
Pittsfield Community Meeting On Rest of the River Project
Mount Greylock School Committee Votes Slight Increase to Proposed Assessments
Independent Connections Cuts Ribbon on Pittsfield Branch
Conte/Crosby SOI Greenlit by School Building Needs, School Committee


Categories:
Arts (1)
Google (1)
Local (6)
Newspapers (4)
Radio (0)
Television (0)
Web (11)
Archives:
Tags:
Comic Transcript Hate Group Demarsico Editor Graduates Eagle Art Dilbert Rockwell Dogbert Tracking Norad Celebration Intern iBerkshires Shift Paywall Tanglewood Comments Mcla Education Lenox Anniversary Santa Subscription Topix Advertising News Birthday Information Window
Popular Entries:
Papers Implement Paywall; iBerkshires Still Free
Topix, No More?
The New News
Transcript Editor Left Reporting Legacy
Santa's Flight Check
iBerkshires Adds Facebook Commenting System
iBerkshires Congratulates MCLA Grads
iBerkshires Turns 11 Years Old
A Lot of Things to Think About
iBerkshires Celebrates 14 Years of Covering the Region
Recent Entries:
iBerkshires Celebrates 14 Years of Covering the Region
Opinion: Those Who Shall Not Be Named
iBerkshires.com Debuts New Look
iBerkshires Adds Facebook Commenting System
iBerkshires Adds 'FlyerCentral' To Advertising Options
Papers Implement Paywall; iBerkshires Still Free
Transcript Editor Left Reporting Legacy
iBerkshires Congratulates MCLA Grads
iBerkshires Turns 11 Years Old
Santa's Flight Check