Poll results: Do you think newspapers should charge people to access their websites?

The result, with 725 votes cast, is:

• Yes: 11%
• No: 89%

12 April 2010

A response from our experts

The result has a number of interesting elements.

1. The response rate was reasonable, but not at the top end of polls so far conducted. This may not, therefore, yet be as major an issue for our respondents as it is for other sectors of society and age groups.

2. The result itself was overwhelming. It seems to reflect a widespread view that, in an online environment in which much (though by no means everything) is available free of charge, newspaper content is not sufficiently distinctive (or, frankly, valuable) to be an exception to the norm.

3. The result should also concern the newspaper industry itself. If this is anything like an indication of the views of potential customers of the future, charges for content are not remotely an attractive proposition, and the industry will have to work harder in future to convince people of the attractiveness of the idea. People remain prepared to pay for media content in some circumstances (music downloads, pay-for-view boxing). In other areas, however (e.g. subscription digital radio), it has largely failed to "take off". This is a warning to newspapers that they, too, may face increasing customer resistance in future.

If you are interested in pursuing these issues in more detail, contact the School of Law, Social Sciences and Communications for more details of our Media and Broadcasting and Journalism courses.

Paul Brighton (Principal Lecturer - Department of Media & Film Studies - Subject Leader - Media, School of Law, Social Sciences and Communications).