What's Up With the Buffalo Blitz Paywall?

[vincec]

8 minutes ago, JoshBarnett said:

 

You are incorrect. There are a minimum of 4-5 free pieces most days. That was among the free pieces for that day. 

 

Here is the link and anyone should be able to access (unless you have used your free article maximum outside of Blitz).

 

http://buffalonews.com/2018/05/04/bills-parcells-met-with-josh-allen-says-hes-committed-to-trying-to-develop/

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, from TBD they all show as locked behind a paywall and the only way you know if it's actually free is by clicking on it, which obviously I didn't do.

[Malazan]

On 5/5/2018 at 7:14 PM, Dirtbag said:

expecting payment for content isn't a scam. i don't pay since i don't like the writers, but there's nothing scammy about it. gotta get paid somehow.

 

There is certainly nothing scammy about getting paid for content, but it's extremely questionable that paywalls accomplish that goal. 

[Gugny]

On 5/5/2018 at 8:09 PM, mileena said:

I hate the BN. First you had to subscribe to read the sports section; now I can't read anything since they banned me for using ad blocker on my browser. What a loser newspaper.

 

So I take it you'd be just fine working your ass off to deliver a product to customers strictly as a volunteer.

[BringBackFergy]

Anyone have a really good Memphis style rib rub recipe? I’m looking for sweet with some heat. 

[stony]

6 hours ago, jeremy2020 said:

 

There is certainly nothing scammy about getting paid for content, but it's extremely questionable that paywalls accomplish that goal. 

I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but the revenue of a years subscription is worth something like tens of thousands of clicks.  It might have been from the editor of The Athletic describing their business model.  Can't remember, but the numbers were pretty interesting regarding the amount of ad revenue generated vs a monthly/annual paywall.   

 

 

[ddaryl]

On 5/5/2018 at 5:14 PM, Dirtbag said:

expecting payment for content isn't a scam. i don't pay since i don't like the writers, but there's nothing scammy about it. gotta get paid somehow.

 

that's what advertising is for.

 

but obviously that's not paying the bills anymore so the BN's will be out of business soon, and i say good riddance.. You should of listen to us when we told you your sports journalist were crap

[BadLandsMeanie]

9 hours ago, vincec said:

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, from TBD they all show as locked behind a paywall and the only way you know if it's actually free is by clicking on it, which obviously I didn't do.

[Cripple Creek]

10 hours ago, musichunch said:

 Any undisclosed conflicts of interests between fan message boards and sports teams? Lots of untouched trails. 

The Billuminati are definitely behind this. What other reason would there be for a Bills site to gather Bills articles from many sources, even a hometown source (?), for its members to read?

[blacklabel]

I've subscribed to see the BNBlitz content but my login/password never work. I've received a response from the customer service department when I've contacted them and they told me my login/password is correct and I should be able to login, but I'm never able to. So that may be an issue they'd like to look into considering I'm still paying the $3 a month and am rarely able to see the content unless I do some random clicking around and end up getting to read it without logging in.

 

There's nothing wrong with charging for content, I just don't feel like they are producing anything unique or overly interesting that people can't read/hear about elsewhere. Tim Graham may have broke the Russ Brandon story but I learned more about that whole story by listening to a 10 minute segment with Tyler Dunner on Shredd & Ragan. 

 

I commend them for trying but it would appear that the majority of fans don't care for the team of writers. And it's not always because people perceive their writing as negative. In my experience, a fair number of writers are active on social media but most of the time they're engaging with trolls, bragging about how they're in a position any average fan wishes they were in, or completely ignoring decent questions or solid rebuttals to their statements. 

[JoshBarnett]

12 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

I've subscribed to see the BNBlitz content but my login/password never work. I've received a response from the customer service department when I've contacted them and they told me my login/password is correct and I should be able to login, but I'm never able to. So that may be an issue they'd like to look into considering I'm still paying the $3 a month and am rarely able to see the content unless I do some random clicking around and end up getting to read it without logging in.

 

Feel free to send me your email and contact info and we will get someone to help you. jbarnett@buffnews.com. 

 

Thanks. 

[Malazan]

4 hours ago, stony said:

I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but the revenue of a years subscription is worth something like tens of thousands of clicks.  It might have been from the editor of The Athletic describing their business model.  Can't remember, but the numbers were pretty interesting regarding the amount of ad revenue generated vs a monthly/annual paywall.   

 

 

 

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160815/09353135247/lots-newspapers-discovering-that-paywalls-dont-work.shtml

http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/09/beacon-finds-partnerships-and-matching-donations-work-better-than-subscriptions-and-paywalls/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/newspapers-rethink-paywalls-digital-efforts-sputter-093036224.html

[stony]

25 minutes ago, jeremy2020 said:

 

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160815/09353135247/lots-newspapers-discovering-that-paywalls-dont-work.shtml

http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/09/beacon-finds-partnerships-and-matching-donations-work-better-than-subscriptions-and-paywalls/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/newspapers-rethink-paywalls-digital-efforts-sputter-093036224.html

Those are interesting, but all 2-3 years old.  I'm curious if the landscape has changed.  I still can't find the article I referenced, but this one regarding the Athletic seems to counter the "paywall/subscription" sites will fail narrative.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2017/01/10/why-2-1-million-was-invested-in-a-sports-news-subscription-site/#499218a415e7

 

EDIT: The subscription service seems to be working.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolschram/2018/03/08/the-athletic-will-keep-growing-with-the-help-of-20-million-in-new-funding/#eecf0705369c

Edited May 8, 2018 by stony

[Ol Dirty B]

3 hours ago, ddaryl said:

 

that's what advertising is for.

 

but obviously that's not paying the bills anymore so the BN's will be out of business soon, and i say good riddance.. You should of listen to us when we told you your sports journalist were crap

 

So am I missing something or do you not know how every other vehicle of media works?

 

The BN physical paper was never given out for free because it had ads in it 

[ddaryl]

6 minutes ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

So am I missing something or do you not know how every other vehicle of media works?

 

The BN physical paper was never given out for free because it had ads in it 

 

its all online now. the paper itself is barley holding on, as is all paper print .

 

The fact remains wouldn't pay for the crap paper so they can go out of business.

 

I can find plenty of news for free online...

 

So what you are you missing ? It is the fact you are living in the past

 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by ddaryl

[stony]

Just now, ddaryl said:

 

its all online now. the paper itself is barley holding on, as is all paper print .

 

The fact remains wouldn't pay for the crap paper so they can go out of business.

 

I can find plenty of news I can get of free online.

 

So what you ar emissing is the fact you are living in the past

 

 

 

Where did you get this from?  I'm curious, is this is your opinion, or do you know numbers that indicate their demise is near?

[ddaryl]

4 minutes ago, stony said:

 

Where did you get this from?  I'm curious, is this is your opinion, or do you know numbers that indicate their demise is near?

 

 

Just going by the clues they are offering. All this pay for news crap. Can't imagine many are wiling to pay for their "Bills" news.

 

paper print is going the way of the dodo, that is fact

 

1+1 =2

 

maybe they hold on, but I really don't see them able to compete with the big boys online, and I still don't see many jumping on for pay subscriptions, especially the younger generations

Edited May 8, 2018 by ddaryl

[stony]

Just now, ddaryl said:

 

 

Just going by the clues they are offering. ALl this pay fo rcrap. Can't imagine many are wiling to pay for their "Bills" news.

 

paper print is going the way of the dodo, that is fact

 

1+1 =2

 

maybe they hold on, but I really don't see them able to compete with the big boys online, and I still don't see many jumping on for pay subscriptions, especially the younger generations

Cool, thanks.

 

Check out The Athletic links I posted above.  I don't think the BN is in trouble, but if a competitor came into this market with Buffalo-specific coverage, I'd watch that fight.   

[BadLandsMeanie]

I'm reminded of a line from the movie "Founder" about Ray Crock the McDonalds magnate. McDonalds was growing and growing but still Ray Crock was struggling financially and he couldn't understand it. Then he met a man who told him that the problem was, Crock didn't know what business he was in. He wasn't in the hamburger business. He was in the real estate business. Crock hired that man who then changed things so that McDonalds bought the prime locations and then leased them to the franchisees. Crock now retained ownership of the land the locations sat on, instead of trying to make money on the mark up from his milkshake mixes etc. And that is how he became a billionaire.

 

Newspapers are in the advertising business. They always have been. Being unable to sustain a newspaper through advertising revenue means they are losing their life blood and they must focus like a laser beam on fixing that or risk insolvency. I don't think newspapers see it that way. And I think if they continue down the path of trying to carve back share from technical corporate giants like Google, in Google's back yard of the internet, as individual companies, the outlook is bleak for most of them. 

 

To me I think the press at large need to recognize what business they are in, define their common good, and then team up to turn the tide. Otherwise I think Google is going to crush them one by one.

Edited May 8, 2018 by BadLandsMeanie

[Malazan]

1 hour ago, stony said:

Those are interesting, but all 2-3 years old.  I'm curious if the landscape has changed.  I still can't find the article I referenced, but this one regarding the Athletic seems to counter the "paywall/subscription" sites will fail narrative.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2017/01/10/why-2-1-million-was-invested-in-a-sports-news-subscription-site/#499218a415e7

 

EDIT: The subscription service seems to be working.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolschram/2018/03/08/the-athletic-will-keep-growing-with-the-help-of-20-million-in-new-funding/#eecf0705369c

 

The athletic hasn't made a dime. They've simply secured funding which doesn't really mean much. 

 

In addition the list of paywall failures like the nytimes is very long. 

 

https://qz.com/1173033/the-psychology-behind-why-journalism-paywalls-still-dont-work/

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180506/11501539779/medias-paywall-obsession-will-end-disaster-most.shtml

https://om.co/2018/05/04/the-paywall-quandary-how-many-subscriptions-does-one-really-need/?curator=MediaREDEF

 

Paywalls aren't a magic goldmine. Providing good content and engaging your audience will generally give you a number of possible business strategies that don't involve a paywall. Just throwing existing content behind a paywall is not the panacea many believe it to be...this thread alone shows that most don't find the Buffalo News worth paying for and many, like myself, didn't read it when it was free so now even if they start providing really good content, I can't see it. They're going to have to go out of their way to attract people back into the buffalo news ecosystem...

[Hapless Bills Fan]

20 hours ago, JoshBarnett said:

 

You are incorrect. There are a minimum of 4-5 free pieces most days. That was among the free pieces for that day. 

 

Here is the link and anyone should be able to access (unless you have used your free article maximum outside of Blitz).

 

http://buffalonews.com/2018/05/04/bills-parcells-met-with-josh-allen-says-hes-committed-to-trying-to-develop/

 

Josh, I think it would be helpful to many of us if you could reach out to SDS or Nervous Guy and see if, in the new software, there's a way to indicate which articles are free instead of putting everything "Buffalo News" up with the lock software.  I don't believe there was a workaround with the old message board software.  I suggest reaching out because it might require some kind of a "flag" on TBN end that the message board software could pick up on (eg in putting it up there's something like "FREE = TRUE" which may already be there).

 

If it's huge work, maybe not worth it, but it is frustrating to have to click on multiple articles and get the ad to find the free ones.

 

The other thing is, there have been reports of variable behavior - one non-subscriber will post a link to an article that was free to him, then when others of us click on that link it's behind the paywall.  If you could shed understanding here that would be appreciated.