Economist exploring charging for podcasts

The Economist, which has twice as many podcast listeners as subscribers, is exploring whether to charge to listen to them, writes Bron Maher of Press Gazette.

Maher writes, “Most podcasts associated with news websites remain un-paywalled, with one notable exception being that of the otherwise paywall-free Il Post in Italy.

“The Economist has some breathing room to figure out its podcast paywall strategy, at least. Prideaux confirmed to Press Gazette that the shows pay for themselves with the advertising revenue they bring in.

“In the meantime, its many journalists have the luxury of getting their work outside the paywall and in front of more people.

“‘The Economist has this huge network of correspondents all over the world’, Prideaux said, ‘and I’m not sure we’ve shown that off.'”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.