FORMER HEAD OF NYTIMES.COM ON PAY FOR VIEW: MASS DELUSION

Jeff Jarvis, Guardian, UK - Vivian Schiller, now CEO of National Public Radio in the US, said in an interview with Newsweek that talk of charging for news online is "mass delusion". She should know. Schiller was head of nytimes.com when it charged and then stopped charging for its content. . .

Charging for content brings marketing and customer-service costs. Online, it reduces audience and the advertising they justify. Putting content behind a wall cuts it off from search and links; they cut off your Googlejuice.

When publishers build those walls, they open the door for free competitors, who can now enter the content business with virtually no barrier to entry. Publishers who fool themselves into thinking pay will save the day only further forestall the innovation and experimentation that is the only possible path to success online.


Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 after an investigation concluded he bet on the Cincinnati Reds to win while he was manager of the team.

"How long does a person have to die?" Aaron said. "I think the thing that bothers me is that he is missing out on a lot of things. He made a mistake. I don’t know what else can be done, or what else can be said. I just think at some point he needs to start enjoying being a Hall of Famer."