NY Times milks its journos for money


by Sunny H    
August 27, 2009 at 1:05 am

The New York Times has decided that if it’s top writers can’t make money for the company behind a paywall, then perhaps other ways might work better.

Neiman Lab reports:

School’s in session at The New York Times this fall, and the professors include some big bylines on campus: Nicholas Kristof, Gail Collins, and Eric Asimov. They’re offering weeklong, largely online courses for Times readers who pay between $125 and $185.

The courses taught by Kristof and Collins, both op-ed columnists, include a “live, interactive Webcast,” three written lessons, and a message board where students can interact with their big-name instructors. For that, the Times is asking $185. Kristof’s course is on the exploitation of women in developing nations; Collins’s deals with the history of American women’s rights since 1960. Wine columnist Eric Asimov’s course, for $125, is a single session that students can attend in person or online. (Booze not included.)

But the newspaper of record will have to run a significant number of these courses to generate any serious revenue.

I reported recently that the Guardian was considering a “members’ club” in order to raise revenue.

That follows in the footsteps of the New York Times, which recently unveiled ‘NY Times Gold’ and ‘NY Times Silver’. Both membership clubs are designed to offer readers behind-the-scenes benefits for some extra dosh.

The Guardian is also moving forward with its own plans for a membership club. It recently advertised a job posting on its website:

Increasingly we believe our future resides at the centre of a community of engaged readers and users, whose relationship with us will be much closer and more involved. The Guardian Club will be our transformational next step in bringing these customers to the centre of our business, rewarding loyalty while growing our reach and revenues. We want members of the Club to feel that they are genuinely part of our organisation, and as close as it is possible to get to the editorial heart of our company.

The future of online journalism seems to be shaping up into a battle between pay-walls (News International, FT) and membership clubs. It’s still unclear what the Telegraph group is considering.

                Post to del.icio.us

· About the author: Sunny Hundal is editor of Liberal Conspiracy. He works full time as a journalist, commentator, blogger, activist and general layabout. He was voted Guardian blogger of the year in 2006. Also at: Pickled Politics, on Twitter and Comment is free.

· Other posts by Sunny H

· Filed under: news


23 Comments in response   ||  



Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Market Web

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://tinyurl.com/ngemu2

  2. Fusion Cash

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://tinyurl.com/ngemu2

  3. My Data Team

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://tinyurl.com/ngemu2

  4. George Hutchings

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/fgtv6

  5. Andrew

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://bit.ly/s906v

  6. Rachael Solomon

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://bit.ly/4vOrNq

  7. Online Recruitment

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/3LuLJD visit http://ucan.ca

  8. Long Young

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/A2vrl

  9. Market Web

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://tinyurl.com/ngemu2

  10. Twitted by Marketweb

    [...] This post was Twitted by Marketweb [...]

  11. Fusion Cash

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://tinyurl.com/ngemu2

  12. My Data Team

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://tinyurl.com/ngemu2

  13. George Hutchings

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/fgtv6

  14. Ruth Farley

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/1pLQTE

  15. Andrew

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://bit.ly/s906v

  16. Rachael Solomon

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money: NY Times milks its journos for money. by Sunny H Augu.. http://bit.ly/4vOrNq

  17. Online Recruitment

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/3LuLJD visit http://ucan.ca

  18. Long Young

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/A2vrl

  19. Ruth Farley

    Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money http://bit.ly/1pLQTE

  20. Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money |

    [...] Original post: Liberal Conspiracy » NY Times milks its journos for money [...]

  21. Maureen Doallas

    RT @LaurenEdwardsSV Thoughtful advice for PR editors: side-by-side editing technique, Socratic Qs, choosiness. http://bit.ly/2lQcOx



Reader comments

1. Alisdair Cameron

You know if I’m going to pay (and those kind of sums aren’t small) for a class, it has to run by someone who really knows what they are talking about and is a good teacher. Were the Guardian to follow suit, how many of its writers would fulfil those criteria? They’ve laid off too many of the genuinely informed, getting down and doing the graft type of journalists and overpay way too many talking-head opinion-shouters who upon examination are pretty clueless.

The Guardian, I suspect, will get away with this. It’s just its loyalty club will be populated almost entirely by wannabe Guardian journalists trying to get in with the editors…

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

 
Liberal Conspiracy is the UK's most popular left-of-centre politics blog. Our aim is to re-vitalise the liberal-left through discussion and action. More about us here.

You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or rss feeds.
Recent articles across Liberal Conspiracy
LibCon news

8 Comments 18 Comments 15 Comments 20 Comments 10 Comments 26 Comments 57 Comments 67 Comments 2 Comments 49 Comments

click here!



LATEST COMMENTS
» crusade posted on Against multiculturalism

» 5cc posted on Against multiculturalism

» 5cc posted on Against multiculturalism

» ukliberty posted on Vote Pirate Party

» ukliberty posted on Vote Pirate Party

» Thebee posted on Tories offer state funding to schools linked to 'occult society'

» Just Visiting posted on Against multiculturalism

» Just Visiting posted on Against multiculturalism

» Matt Munro posted on Vote Pirate Party

» Thebee posted on Tories offer state funding to schools linked to 'occult society'

» Daniel Hoffmann-Gill posted on Contra Stimulus!

» Friend posted on Dizzy in a tizzy over MP's invoice

» 5cc posted on Against multiculturalism

» Lee Griffin posted on Against multiculturalism

» Lee Griffin posted on Against multiculturalism

  Last 50 // Comments feed