Suzanne Stevens, the editor of the Portland Business Journal, writes about why more of its content is available only to its subscribers.
Stevens writes, “Should you pay for those quick-hits? No, and we don’t ask you to. Those quick-hits can deliver important news bites. But they’re often reactionary and produced with an objective of getting news out immediately, which means they don’t often delve into the question of ‘what it means.’
“That’s not the case with stories that require multiple sources, deep reporting, research, analysis and the ability to distill data. Those stories take time and demand a skill set that is often years in the making. It’s content produced by experienced journalists and editors that in most cases you won’t find anywhere else.
“We’ve talked a lot in our newsroom about what locking down more content will mean to our readers, particularly those who are not currently subscribers. As journalists, we want our stories to be available to the widest audience possible, and we realize that a Business Journal subscription may not fit in everyone’s budget.
“However, we also recognize that if we give our content away for free, we won’t be able to keep the lights on, let alone dig into important stories.”
Read more here.
