Global newspaper chiefs have some rare good news to share after years of slumping print sales and advertising revenues — readers appear increasingly willing to pay for online news.
Over 1,000 newspaper editors and other media figures are meeting in Bangkok this week as papers continue to shed readers — at least in the older markets — and the shift to the Internet draws more “eyeballs” but lower ad rates.
Press freedom, journalist safety, the use of new technology and future trends in print and advertising will all also be discussed at the four-day annual World Newspaper Congress, which runs until June 5.
The issue of charging readers for web and mobile content looms largest, with editors casting an envious eye at media groups who have successfully implemented “paywalls” after years of giving away news for free.
“The general impression was that it would be impossible to reverse the culture of free (online) content… that people will never pay for it,” said Gilles Demptos of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.