M(S*)MMM # 242 ---The Advertiser's Pay Wall

     The other shoe...the first of several I suspect...is falling at The Montgomery Advertiser, the largest daily newspaper in Alabama.
     Starting on November 18th, their digital content will go behind a "pay-wall", though the announcement this morning never uses that industry phrase:

Subscription options will range from full access with seven-day home delivery of the print edition to digital-only. Non-subscribers will have access to a limited number of articles before they are required to subscribe, though some pages will remain available.

     The Advertiser's decision comes long after The New York Times and other major national papers made that move.
    Publisher Sam Martin Editor Wanda Lloyd writes about the paper's increasing digital content and expanded digital offerings, and about the fact that they don't see themselves as a newspaper company.
     And at least for now, they're not dropping any of those expensive newspaper print editions, like the formerly largest printed papers did last month, when they cut back to three days a week. The Advertiser almost has to follow suite, but when? Perhaps once they see how many folks sign up for their digital access in two weeks.
     There are other unanswered questions. What are the pages that "will remain available"? Obits, which have caused a problem in some other markets? Ad pages? After all, that's the mean and potatoes income for the paper. We'll see,

[The Monday (*and sometimes Sunday) Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of www.TimLennox.com]