By Karen Bailey, Senior Account Specialist

The future of paid content

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about paid news content. Google recently announced steps they’re taking on behalf of news organizations to limit free access to secure content, Rupert Murdoch has been very vocal about his views on subscription based content, and most recently, major magazine publishers announced an iTunes-like offering for magazines.
 
While I can commend some news organizations for their innovation, I do have reservations. Unless every news organization, magazine and Web site can join together in a single platform, which is unlikely, I fear the benefit of multiple perspectives may be lost.
 
Over time, I’ve become addicted to the luxury of a Google News format. For each headline story, there are thousands of outlets, allowing me to decide if I want People Magazine, CNN or Huffington Post’s take on Tiger’s latest transgression. And there are probably just as many factors that shape where I go and how many different articles I read.
 
At the end of the day, two things are certain: the future of paid content is uncertain and a drastic change in how we access information is inevitable (and somewhat exciting). If you don’t think so, check out Sports Illustrated’s new Tablet, recently launched on YouTube. For now, however, I’m going to continue to soak up all of the free news and points of view I can.