We are fighting to keep the internet free as we battle government censorship with SOPA and PIPA. There may be another battle to keep the internet free in a different perspective, as a local newspaper will begin asking for a subscription to read the news on their website,
The article posted yesterday on delawareonline.com caught our attention as the headline was "We're investing in journalists, equipment and technology." We were hoping to read an article about new technology being used by the local newspaper.
The first paragraph of the article introduces us to the family, "The News Journal Media Group -- which includes the newspaper, delawareonline.com and Spark and Signature Brandywine magazines among its titles."
The second paragraph starts with, "As part of our new full-access subscription model." Now you have our attention, what exactly is the "new full-access subscription model?"
It is not until the fourth paragraph we get some clarification with the statement, "Non-subscribers, who have had access to news content free at delawareonline the past 14 years, will be able to view a limited number of stories per month before being asked to subscribe." So this means the content will not be free? We still do not have a clear picture on exactly how it will work or how much it will cost. We read the entire article in search of clarification, the paragraphs and pages that follow are an infomercial on the history of the newspaper.
The News Journal is part of the the large Gannett family of newspapers. It will be interesting to see if other Gannett publications start using the practice known as "paywalling" where webpage content is controlled by a subscription.
Newpaper, television station, website
If you are wondering if it is worth the effort to pay to read the news online, keep in mind there are numerous sources for all your Delaware news on the web.
The distinction over where the news comes from has become much fuzzier thanks to the internet. Newspapers like the News Journal have created websites where we can read the news, but in order to compete on this new medium they have gone beyond just text as we can watch video clips on various news stories on their website.
Since Wilmington, Delaware is considered to be a part of the greater Philadelphia area, the television news outlets from Philadelphia cover Delaware news and their website often feature stories originating in Delaware.
there are many other smaller local newspapers such as the The Newark Post that offer online news for the Greater Wilmington area. The area to the south of Wilmington and the state of Delaware are covered by The Delaware State News which has offices in Dover and uses the website Newszap.com for local news.
Southern Delaware also is covered by two televisions stations from Salisbury, Maryland, which also have a presence in Dover, and have websites which carry a large amount of Delaware news.
If you are just looking for a place to glance over some news stories with your morning coffee and bagel there radio station websites as well where you can read local news. Delaware has many news talk radio stations such as WDEL, WDOV, and WMGD, which have websites with news feeds covering local news.
As of right now we are not aware of any other Delaware news websites going to a subscription model, but we'll be on the lookout.
And don't forget about the many national organizations with websites, such as examiner.com, which use freelance writers in areas such as Delaware to keep an ear open for local topics. This column is here for all your Delaware technology news.
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