[Infowarrior] - Google to limit free news access

[Richard Forno]

    Google to limit free news access
Newspaper publishers will now be able to set a limit on the number of  
free news articles people can read through Google, the company has  
announced.

The concession follows claims from some media companies that the  
search engine is profiting from online news pages.

Under the First Click Free programme, publishers can now prevent  
unrestricted access to subscription websites.

Users who click on more than five articles in a day may be routed to  
payment or registration pages.

"Previously, each click from a user would be treated as free," Google  
senior business product manager Josh Cohen said in a blog post.

“ This may still be a significant moment in the battle between old and  
new media ”
Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology correspondent
"Now, we've updated the programme so that publishers can limit users  
to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing."

Google users may start seeing registration pages appear when they  
click for a sixth time on any given day at websites of publishers  
using the programme, according to Mr Cohen.

This will only affect websites that currently charge for content.

'Significant move'

The announcement is seen as a reaction to concerns in the newspaper  
industry that Google is using newspaper content unfairly.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of  
Newscorp, has accused firms such as Google of profiting from  
journalism by generating advertising revenue by linking readers to  
newspaper articles.

Some readers have discovered they can avoid paying subscription fees  
to newspaper websites by calling up their pages via Google.


ANALYSIS
Tim Weber, business editor, BBC News website
The dispute between media groups and Google reflects the general  
confusion over how traditional media can make money on the internet.

Every newspaper owner angry about Google's linking policy can use a  
simple remedy: add two lines of code to a file on your servers and  
Google will leave you alone.

Deep down, most media owners realise that the old "publish it and they  
will come" principle does not work in an on-demand world.

If Google would not link to their websites, the very same media groups  
would bitterly complain about Google's refusal to generate valuable  
online traffic.

Unless you own premium content (from the Wall Street Journal at one  
end to porn at the other), making money from on-demand content means  
first and foremost that your audiences have to be able to find you.

The problem: Nobody has quite figured out a business model for a world  
where consumers don't want their morning or evening news, but want the  
Now O'clock News - the "on-demand and to my taste" news.

This is because Google searches frequently link directly to newspaper  
articles, bypassing some sites' subscription systems.

Broadcasting and media consultant Steve Hewlett said that Google's  
response was "a pretty significant move".

"Rupert Murdoch is trying to build a consensus that paying for content  
online is right and that aggregators like Google that use newspaper  
content but don't pay for it are doing something wrong," he said.

Search for revenue

Newspapers are increasingly looking for new ways to make money from  
their online content amid a continuing decline in circulation figures  
and advertising revenues.

Earlier this week Johnston Press, the UK's largest regional newspaper  
publisher, announced plans to to begin charging for access to six of  
its titles online.

The move follows a 42% slump in advertising revenues at the group over  
the last two years.

Earlier this year, the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) cut 1,000  
jobs at its regional arm Northcliffe Media, which publishes more than  
100 newspapers in England and Wales.

Newscorp, which owns the Times and the Sun newspapers in the UK, has  
also been affected by the downturn.

In June, it announced losses of $3.4bn (£2bn) for the previous 12  
months, describing the year as "the most difficult in recent history".

It has also revealed plans to begin charging for access to all its  
online content. The corporation currently charges for access to its US  
title the Wall Street Journal.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/8389896.stm

Published: 2009/12/02 10:21:14 GMT

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