Revolver

If there’s one thing that’s true about digital media, it’s that news is free. Punters might be prepared to pay for specialist or niche services, but when it comes to run-of-the-mill diary-led news they simply won’t.

Given that Newscorp seems to be about to start charging for their online news, this is something the Murdochs don’t seem to understand. Online readers might fork out their hard-earned cash for value-added services or breaking financial news and some might even pay for the dubious privilege of ogling the women from Page 3, but when you ask them to pay up front for churnalism then they’ll immediately turn to the one of the thousands of alternative sources instead.

I’m not sure what the problem is with the traditional media’s headset when it comes to online, but they’re fast running out of time to get it right. The idea of giving away free content might smart a bit, but it’s become an inescapable cultural norm. Newscorp – still smarting from its MySpace losses – can introduce charges if they want, but the smart money is betting that any such move will turn out to be an unmitigated disaster.