Modes of Publishing and Paywalls

This week in ARTS 2090, we examined the transformation of the written word. Before considering how our languages are communicated and published for others, the written text itself needs to be understood. From cave paintings to live feed tweeting, the written word is the database of human record. It is the only systematic way we have archived the human civilization from its very beginning. In Orality and Literacy, Walter J. Ong comments on how the written word has transformed the human thought process. According to Ong, written text is why cultures have transitioned from primarily oral to literate. Ong writes of ‘writing’ as its own technology arguing that our other modern technologies cannot be understood until we know how powerful ‘writing’ is to our culture.

After a thought or a word is written down, the act of publishing it remains. With the dawn of electronic literature coupled with accelerating social media usage, there seems to be no limit to online publishing--no limit and no cost. What someone can and can’t say and where they can say it--there are no rules. Modes of publishing seem to be limitless with the internet. The essence of the internet is freedom and collaboration. Publishing is instant. Redistribution takes seconds. Modes of publishing are limitless. But who reaps the benefits of success? Can ideas and media content be regulated online without destroying the essence of the free space?

Online newspaper content along with scholastic journals and academic publications have turned to paywalls to block internet users from accessing the entirety of their content without paying for a subscription. 'Hard' paywalls, implemented by the Wall Street Journal and The Times, forbid users from accessing any of their content. Requiring up-front subscription allows these news sites to provide added value to their articles, target a specific market (or niche audience), and reaffirm their dominance over their dedicated consumers and controlled market (Wikipedia: Paywall). 'Soft' paywalls operate with more flexibility with viewing content before they request for a subscription. The site tracks the number of articles and content being read by a specific user; after a certain number of pages, the paywall comes up. This is easy to get around if internet users delete their 'cookies' from their internet browser history. But because there are ways around it and other means of access, Felix Salmon, a Wired finance blogger, describes the New York Times paywall as porous. Salmon, however, sees this as a unique feature, not a technical flaw. He claims it keeps their news content opening and inviting. Salmon concluded their paywall works because they treat their readers as a civilized and mature audience. The New York Time's 'soft' paywall has exceeded most expectations with more than 250,000 online subscribers and counting (The Guardian, Dan Gillmor).

Initially, Rupert Murdoch introduced paywalls for access to all of his newspaper websites, including The Times, Sunday Times and News of the World. In 2011, The New York Times also confirmed that it would implement a paywall to its online content. Steve Busfield reported an interview between Murdoch and Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, who argued against paywalls. Rusbridger claimed, "By having a paywall, you are cutting your journalism off from the world." (Guardian editor hits back at paywalls). He continued to explain that erecting a paywall around news content suggests, "you are turning away from a world of openly shared content." Rusbridger highlighted that although there are brilliant business models backing the use of paywalls, he said, "Editorially it is about the most fundamental statement anyone could make about how newspapers see themselves in relation to the newly-shaped world."

Personal reflection and side thoughts:

1. With limitless mediums of publishing, how will anyone ever track the author of the original thought? Author of Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk wrote, "Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known." This statement could expand across all time. We are all publishers of the days and people that have come before us. The modes of publishing have changed but have the publishers?

One of the most inspirational essays I have ever read and perhaps the most insightful perspective on the issue of copyright in the modern world:

"The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism," by Jonathan Letham (Harpers Bazaar Magazine)

2. Another interesting tangent...Situated in central London, The School of Life, an enterprise offering classes and sermons about good ideas for everyday living, announced a new event to its April calendar. The School of life is offering a class about “How to Thrive in a Wired World.”

Readings and other sources:
Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy

The Printing Press as an Agent of Change

Wikipedia: Paywall

Salmon, Felix (2011) ‘How The New York Times Paywall is Working’, Wired

Busfield, Steve (2010) ‘Guardian editor hits back at paywalls’, The Guardian

Dan Gillmor (2011) ‘The New York Times paywall: the faint smell of success', The Guardian



The Cult, the Official Chuck Palahniuk Site