http://www.vermonttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20101001/NEWS01/710019965 Published: October 1, 2010 • Today really is the first day of the rest of our lives at the Rutland Herald, The Times Argus and the New England Business Journals. • At 3 p.m. today we will begin the process of putting most of our content on our website behind a paywall and we will require you to subscribe if you do not have a print subscription. Print subscribers will continue to receive their paper and will have full access to the website at no additional charge once they register. • Obituaries, classifieds, the calendar and front pages will continue to be accessible online and at no charge to nonsubscribers. • At the same time, we are launching paid replicas of our print publications called E-editions. Electronic versions of the Rutland Herald, The Times Argus and the New England Business Journals with features that allow you to turn the pages electronically on your computer, translate your local news into 19 different languages, and offer the ability to adjust typeface for readability. A paperless — paper. • Why are we making this investment now? And what does it mean for community journalism? Frankly, for some time now more people are reading our content for free rather than buying the paper. We are still driving about 10,000 miles every day to deliver the print paper but can no longer sustain that cost nor the cost of our newsrooms without transitioning to an online delivery system. • We know our readers want our content because we receive over 4 million page views a month on our websites. That is a lot for papers our size. Because of that readership we know there is a demand for local, fact-checked community and state content. For generations and most recently the past year, the Mitchell family has been investing in technology, developing and training staff, to keep pace with what we believe to be the future of our journalism — which is not far from what it is today — local and community. • A critical piece of that future and one reason for the paywall is to protect the content we have originated from news aggregators and other third parties who have been repurposing our content. From now on, when users register to use the website, they will agree to use the content for personal, not commercial, purposes. • You also can access a searchable archive of all print papers back to the first of this year that will eventually be expanded to include all publications dating back to 1794. • To transition, we have completely replaced our editorial publishing system. For the first time, we have one database for the entire company. We used to have three.We are now using cloud technology to improve the strength and speed of our server to introduce a new wave of mobile journalism that will be able to focus on continual community coverage. • We have also integrated a new pay system to allow you to handle all transactions electronically with ease from the comfort of your own computer. • I appreciate the dedication and support of our employees during the preparation for these changes that will not only provide jobs but secure the viability of your newspapers for a long time to come. I also appreciate you, our dedicated subscriber, who believes in what we do and trust we will continue to work on your behalf. • We invite you to try a seven-day free trial and see what you think. Visit www.rutlandherald.com today and discover what your future newspaper has to offer. • If you have any questions about the new E-edition, or technical inquiries, please feel free to call Subscriber Services at the Rutland Herald at (802) 747-6121, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 7 to 10 a.m.; Sunday from 7 to 11 a.m. or for the Times Argus, call (802) 479-4040. • John Mitchell is president and publisher of the Rutland Herald and The Times Argus. • READER COMMENTS • Well, well. I just clicked the 'subscribe' button on the front page, to try to get a look at the privacy policies, and found that RH is operating on an expired security certificate. • Really inspires confidence in their product. • -- Posted by Kevin OClassen on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:51 am EST • I won't be subscribing. Not because of content (or lack thereof) but because of technical issues the Herald ignores. • The current website is marginal at best because of the 'packeting' of the information. They've added all sorts of bells, whistles, and gizmos that slow the loading horribly for any of us not on broadband connections. When I look at the news in the morning, I start the Herald page loading, then go read other news sites for five minutes or so while the content slowly trickles in on the Herald. • The 'e-editions' are likely to be even worse. I also worry that reading these will leave you at the mercy of 'data-mining' by the Herald through the dedicated reader software. I don't know they will be doing this, but it is getting to be a fairly common tactic. I'd be interested to see their user agreement and subscriber privacy policy. • -- Posted by Kevin OClassen on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:46 am EST • I for one will be glad to see the change. As a subscriber I won't have to see the moronic comments by the likes of None None and all the other welfare nerds. Thanks for taking the trash out RH! • -- Posted by Joe Kerswile on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:41 am EST • "I'm curious how many of those "4 million hits per month" are repeat customers, you know folks like Son of That Guy, Nottabush, Nonenone1, and all of their siblings on your other publications." • Actually, unique visitors are a better measure: • http://siteanalytics.compete.com/rutlandherald.com/ • http://www.quantcast.com/rutlandherald.com • Not so good, boss. This site's about to fall off a cliff. Too bad. • -- Posted by Son Of That Guy on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:24 am EST • How about just a move to the center with a little objective reporting. • I guess they figure that they can recoup what they are losing through declining subscriptions for a grossly overpriced paper. Time will tell. • I guess that as of 1500 I'll be looking for an alternative to get my news. •Advertisers take note. • -- Posted by northstar62 on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:21 am EST • Pay for this drivel.. NOT...I canceled my print edition because the price went up and the quality down..toodles all.. it has been fun... • -- Posted by M S on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:20 am EST • Wptz.com or wcax.com, both updated more than once a day. Bye-bye forum conservative crackhea-rednecks. • -- Posted by Jeff Abkiting on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:19 am EST • It seems a move to the "Right" would save the Herald and many other publications that find themselves in dire $trait$. Middle to right publications seem to be thriving in this world. Ideology over sensibility. • Actually, the Herald is making a sharp turn to the right........ your right back pocket. • -- Posted by None None on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 9:13 am EST • by the way, so people know just in case the same happens on this Rutland Herald version of the publisher's musings, on the original page his musings were posted on the Times Argus Website were comments of people saying goodbye and good luck or whatever was on their minds and, although nothing as strong as some of the comments found here, however the Times Argus removed the musings of their publisher and posted them on a new page; the other page is blank and not linked to, however the comments remain. did not stop anyone from posting comment anew at the *drifting* page though. very sad. • -- Posted by Morgan W. Brown on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:59 am EST • Hmm I suspect that Mr. Mitchell will soon learn a harsh lession in free market capitalism. • Pay for the Rutland Herald's shoddy journalism and insulting opinions- I think not. • -- Posted by Joe Blow on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:57 am EST • I guess I would say this to Mr. Mitchell...........Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish!!-- Posted by Hassen Bin Soabur on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:51 am EST • Over and out........... • -- Posted by Joyce Winters on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:20 am EST • And you are surprised why? R. John Mitchell is well known by my family for his insulting editorial written when my Aunt died unexpectedly in 83. His low grade editorialism goes right along with his lack of business skills. • It's a shame really that before he launched this change that he didn't first ask the readers their opinion of it OR, here's a novel idea, post this change prior to the very day of its launch? Or maybe he did so because he wished to avoid the backlash of nasty emails he's sure to receive. • In any case, it's a shame that with the economy as it is that I will not be able to keep a breast of Vermont news because there are those of us who barely make ends meet as it is and can ill afford this added expense. Amazing that I can read the Times Union, The Saratogian and Burlington Free Press online for free and they too deliver papers. • -- Posted by nancy sobotka on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:15 am EST • I'm curious how many of those "4 million hits per month" are repeat customers, you know folks like Son of That Guy, Nottabush, Nonenone1, and all of their siblings on your other publications. I bet SonofThatGuy is good for 100 hits a day alone. I guess this really is the middle of the end for the Rutland area as a town this size really needs a vibrant press, but your advertisers can count too. As in customer counts are down, while advertising dollar counts are higher. So as a former advertiser I also shall say good luck and goodbye. • ps- I can't wait to see the new hit counts when this goes into effect. • -- Posted by Stella Blue on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:12 am EST • Wow here I thought I would be reading a heart felt letter to the editor and it turns out its jackassery, Congrats rutland herald, there are better sites then this that give better news for free. See you there. • -- Posted by bob vila on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 8:02 am EST • goodbye and, most truly, best of luck. • -- Posted by Morgan W. Brown on Fri, Oct 1, 2010, 7:51 am EST •
Paywalls and Papers - Rutland Herald Plans To Hide
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Contributed by: cgrotke
On October 1, 2010, the Rutland Herald is scheduled (says WCAX) to put their online news behind a paywall. This move is fraught with risk.
Most experiments with paywalls have been miserable failures due to a combination of factors:
1. Readership drops. Those unwilling to pay will go somewhere else.
2. As readership drops, advertising drops. Fewer eyeballs equals less ad revenue. (Attention Rutland Herald advertisers: iBrattleboro sells ads that reach southern Vermont readers).
3. As readership drops, good reporters leave to work for papers with larger readership.
4. With inexperienced reporters, low readership, and declining advertising, sources will begin to favor other media outlets that get them the crowds they are looking for. If time is limited and there are many media folk to meet with, professionals will favor those with the biggest audiences.
The Rutland Herald was begun as a weekly on December 8. 1794. It didn't have much local news at the onset, or for the first 40 years or so, instead focusing on biblical tales and poems.
The paper looked outward and began to document the community. Their editors argued against slavery and in favor of Vermont railroads. Their reporters covered politics and business, and the Rutland Herald grew to become the second largest paper in Vermont.
In 1964 the paper purchased the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, and in 1975 began a joint Sunday edition.
The paper has successfully remained a local newspaper operation, with the Mitchell family being owners and publishers since 1948.
The Rutland Herald is an excellent news operation, and it's frustrating to see the paper go in the disappointing direction of a paywall.
To be sure, newspapers have had to adapt to changing business models. Paywalls, though, haven't been successful at improving the situation for those who have tried them.
Is there another way?
The traditional media model is to deliver a compelling product to as many people as possible, then make money selling advertising space. Revenue from subscriptions was always extra - it never paid the bills. Adding a paywall breaks this model by asking readers, not advertisers, to pay the way.
Editor & Publisher quotes publisher R. John Mitchell as saying "We are asking people to pay for the news, plain and simple... That is the service we provide. We can no longer afford to give it away on the Web. It continues to take significant resources to provide our content."
I like the Rutland Herald and would like to help. Here's my advice:
1. Skip the paywall.
2. Redesign the website. Use professional design principles, improve the use of type, use better headers, and improve the overall layout and organization.
3. Promote your stars. The Rutland Herald has many of the state's best reporters - great writers who know their beat. Take a cue from TV and radio and start an ad campaign to let readers know that the Rutland Herald has a top-notch news team.
4. Focus on excellence. The Rutland Herald often beats other papers on quality. Maintain and increase this lead and work to become known as Vermont's trusted source of information. Use the paper's in-house expertise to become curators of news.
5. Start thinking about the difference between infinite and scarce goods, and aim to make revenue off of the scarce goods.
An infinite good is something that can be "manufactured" infinitely at no cost - a PDF file or mp3 would be an example. People can "take" these off your shelves for free, endlessly, and it doesn't cost extra for you to make the additional copies.
Scarce goods have limits, and therefore more value. A scarce good could be access to an event of limited seating, or a unique, one-of-a-kind object.
For the Rutland Herald, the infinite good is the news on the web page. One obvious scarce good is the physical paper. Other scarce goods can be identified and monetized if the paper continues to have a firewall between financial matters and editorial decisions.
6. Get people hooked. Instead of spending money to equip writers with video cameras or have developers install paywall software, why not spend that money to mail a copy of the paper to every Vermont household for 6 months, then hit everyone up with an offer to continue a subscription? Would your advertisers be pleased to be reaching 100% of homes in Vermont? Would that have value to them?
7. Reinvent the printed newspaper. Go in the opposite direction of the papers trying to become online multimedia broadcast centers and focus on making a compelling, new, printed product. Use the web to support this effort, not duplicate it. Currently the site is pushing information from the paper out. Consider turning it around to use the site to bring it in, then sort and make sense of this for print readers.
8. Think again about why people like newspapers and why we like print. A newspaper is more than news and ads to a reader. A newspaper is a very close personal friend. We have them at our breakfast tables. We eat lunch with them, take them on trains and planes, and can read them anywhere. Why not take advantage of our fond feelings and nostalgia to market the paper?
9. Work with schools. Help guarantee generations of civic-minded citizens who are connected to newspapers as part of their life.
I hope the Rutland Herald quickly abandons the paywall experiment and begins looking at other ways to stay competitive. It would be nice to have them around in 2094 for their 300th birthday. : )
Jim Hart i bet 90% of people go elswhere for the news
who came up with this brain fart
Yesterday at 9:31am
Maureen A. Terry DeForge Glad we'll be able to access previously precomputer-age articles. : ) When does that happen?
Yesterday at 9:46am
Gordon Sheldon sounds pretty lame ...time to unlike.....
Yesterday at 9:46am
Ursula Hirschmann when I tried to subscribe it labeled the site as an untrusted connection, that would be a problem for me.
Yesterday at 9:57am
Neil Cunningham Sad. The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram in my area did the same thing. Really enjoyed keeping up with news in Vermont, but I will not pay for the privilege.
Yesterday at 10:55am
Kyle Therrien Try all the Soldiers like myself that are from the Rutland area that are stuck here in Afghanistan, Now i have to pay to get the news at home.... BULL SHIT RUSSIAN HERALD!
Yesterday at 11:03am
Michael J Tolaro Bad news day for the Rutland Herald...on to other sights for news now, not going to pay for it....
Yesterday at 11:20am
Kyle Therrien I Feel that if you who enjoy reading the herald online like myself disagree with this decision they have made remove yourself from the heralds FB page as i will be doing! And you can bet your ass im not going to renew my Hard copy when i get home you only get half a paper anyway. It's not worth the money!!!
Yesterday at 11:38am
Eric Mallette I'm shocked by the constant sense of entitlement I see here in these posts in response to this announcement. It is not Mr. Mitchells responsibility to give away his product. When was the last time any of you knocked on Phil Alderman's door...demanding he gratis you a new vehicle?
Should any of us want to go distribute the local news for free, by all means, we are welcome to - we just need to buy a newsroom, a staff, a multi-million dollar press, etc, etc, etc.
Pony-up, folks; this is America. I dont know about you, but I go to the office every day to make money...Why can't Mr. Mitchell (who cares about his community deeply) do the same?
Yesterday at 11:47am
Donna D Snow I can understand they need to make money to keep the paper going. However there should be some way they could let the soldiers that are fighting for our freedom on the otherside of the world to not have to pay to read about what is going on in their own country.
Yesterday at 11:58am
Kevin M Burke I am amazed newspapers did'nt do this sooner. We have a Pulitizer winning paper that we are lucky to have. Support local business! Maybe you can sponsor a troop for a subscription.
Yesterday at 1:17pm
Rutland Herald We agree soldiers who are serving in Afghanistan shouldn't have to pay for the Rutland Herald web service to get hometown news. Soldiers should contact robmitchell@rutlandherald.com and he will take care of it. Please pass this along.
Yesterday at 1:54pm
Donna D Snow Thank you for doing this for the soldiers. Maybe you could post this where it says you will have to pay for it so they will know.
Yesterday at 2:07pm
Bert Morton I just registered my print edition so as to be able to access the present Herald online content free of charge and then agreed to pay 50 cents a week to access the complete online editions of the Herald and The Times Argus. I'm going to enjoy this service this winter when it's ten below out or there is a foot of snow on the ground and I won't have to venture out to my newspaper tube. Works for me.
Yesterday at 3:54pm
Randal Smathers That would be rob.mitchell@rutlandherald.com
Firstname.lastname@rutlandherald.com works for 99.99% of us. FYI
Yesterday at 4:10pm
Scott Frank This is really stupid.
20 hours ago
Scott Frank RH is not worth paying for its content in an intangible format.
20 hours ago
April Sloan This is by far the most RIDICULOUS thing that RH could ever do. I wouldn't pay money to subscribe to a shoddy-at-best newspaper, and I certainly won't subscribe to read the damn thing online! Utterly ridiculous.
17 hours ago
http://www.facebook.com/rutlandherald
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