The other day I was browsing the Hawaii Tribune Herald online and I noticed this popup that kept popping up and I kept closing the window and for some reason it would take me back to the front page of the paper. I didn’t really think anything of it at the time… but I just tried to access the paper online again today and got the same pop-up.
I took a closer look at the pop up and it read the following:
I’ve now looked at the West Hawaii Today site and they are also blocking readers from reading the whole articles. It looks like folks are allowed to read 10 pages or something each month before things start getting funny on the sites.
I've used 7 page of 30!
The funny thing is… is they are not only blocking their own written articles… They are blocking articles delivered to them by the Associated Press.
I just checked out Big Island Weekly and it looks like they are still providing free online news… but who knows how long that will last?
Filed under: aloha, Announcements, Big Island, Community, Economy, Hawaii, National Affairs, Newspapers, Smuck Awards, Technology, Unexplained Phenomenon Tagged: | Big Island Weekly, Hawaii Tribune Herald, Newspaper Firewalls, Online Subscriptions, Stephens Media, West Hawaii Today
I think going the direction of requiring a fee for online readership will definitely only lower overall readership. Advertisers choose their formats in which to advertise based on the numbers of readers. This will only have them seeking an alternative “bang for their buck”.
By the way, as an example the LATimes just went to an online fee, but at least it’s only $0.99 cents for four weeks as opposed to the Tribune Herald and West Hawaii Today’s $11.95 per month fee. The latter is entirely too much for a paperless, non-delivered, local online newspaper.
On the bright side, this good news for local bloggers, like “Hawaii News and Island Information”!