Vox Solicits Reader Contributions to Keep Its Content Free Amid Ad Declines

The near-simultaneous rush among publishers with subscription businesses to loosen their paywalls and provide free access to reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic has reignited long-standing debates about whether the news should fundamentally be free, even as ad-supported journalism (with some exceptions) becomes an increasingly difficult proposition. This week, rather than erecting a paywall, Vox says it's looking to make up for declines in its advertising business by soliciting contributions from those readers who can afford it, in order to preserve free access to its journalism for those who can't. "Our dedicated team of journalists has boundless ambitions—and feels a great sense of responsibility—to bring you more of our distinctive coverage, in new and different ways, and to continue doing so for free," wrote editor-in-chief Lauren Williams and executive editor Allison Rockey in a note to readers Wednesday afternoon. "But even with record audience growth, the media business is not immune to the effects of economic downturns. In fact, right now, when audiences need quality, accessible journalism the most, ad revenue is on the decline as companies move to save money and shrink their marketing budgets." While not a tax-deductible charitable donation, Vox says recurring or one-off contributions, ranging from $7 to $250, will help support its science explainers, its coverage of the challenges being faced by the U.S. health care system and its YouTube and Facebook videos... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-04-10 16:17:19 UTC ]
News tagged with: #caption id= #subscription model #apple news+ #york magazine #media industry

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Nissan treats new Leaf owners in Texas to one year of free charging

Hey, EV fans in Texas, you might want to wait until October 1st before purchasing or leasing a Nissan Leaf. That's because the company's taking a leaf out of Tesla's book and giving new owners in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston a year of unlimited free access to all eVgo charging stations in... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #october 1st #fort worth #electric vehicles


Responsive Websites Are Great for Users, but How Are the Ad Dollars Being Affected?

Since so many consumers hop from smartphone to desktop to tablet and back again multiple times a day, Web publishers have rushed to embrace responsive design: a technology that automatically resizes content to fit any screen. The responsive movement has been a win for users, who increasingly... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adam shlachter #full potential #robyn peterson


Page Turners: The Best Smartphone Apps for Serious Readers

Bookworms are always seeking new text to devour. These apps will help procure ebooks, stories from the web, audiobooks, and even dusty analog tomes.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #smartphone apps


Profit drops 25% at Haynes amid publishing 'slowdown'

Haynes Publishing Group has reported falls in revenue and profit in its results for the year... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter Acquires Mobile Ad Exchange MoPub

Google's got an ad exchange. So does Facebook. Twitter is said to be working on one too. But in the meantime, the company has just purchased MoPub, a burgeoning mobile ad exchange business.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed. MoPub has built an ad exchange through which mobile publishers... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #programmatic buying #ad business #automated fashion #native advertising


Quality vs. Quantity: Selling Ads Behind a Paywall

Premium content that attracts a highly-targeted audience can maintain its value in spite of raw volume. That’s why instituting a paywall—and likely decreasing your online readership, but increasing revenues from readers—doesn’t have to affect your display advertising sales. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #selling ads #premium content


Amazon Launches Kindle Reader With Goodreads Integration

Looks like Amazon is making good use of its Goodreads acquisition. When it debuted the latest Kindle e–reader Tuesday, among the features and specs touted––faster processor, higher–contrast screen, next–gen light––was Goodreads integration, giving readers a built–in community of 20 million to... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #price points #previous generation #selected books


Major Publishers Untroubled by Ad Blocking

According to ad-blocking data provider PageFair, more users are now making use of browser plugins such as Adblock Plus to remove ads from the sites they visit. A recent report it published claimed the trend “is threatening the business mode ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad blocking #remove ads #recent report


Content Recommendation Company Now Allows Users to Reject Stories

Taboola, a company that powers content recommendation and monetization for Web publishers, is now offering users a chance to reject and even weigh in on stories that the company suggests. The company's content recommendation tech appears on all sorts of sites on the Web, often in the form of... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recommended content #good fit #official release


Xbox One indie program will support free-to-play games, microtransactions

Looking into Microsoft's ID@Xbox program for independent developers? You'll be happy to hear that the company won't be placing any restrictions on your desired distribution model. Speaking to Joystiq at PAX Prime, Microsoft portfolio director for digital games Chris Charla explained that... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growing popularity


Profits Rise at RH Despite Sales Decline

Random House parent company Bertelsmann reported this morning that profits at RH rose to 117 million euros from 113 million euros in the first half of 2012 despite a 3.4% sales decline to 915 million euros. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #profits rise #sales decline


Free Jamie cookbook for every UK library

A free copy of Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook, Save With Jamie, is being donated to every... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jamie oliver #free copy #latest cookbook


Madden NFL 25 for iOS available now as a free download

EA's kicking off its free-to-play mobile strategy with an iOS version of the much-anticipated Madden NFL 25. Available now via the App Store, the popular gaming franchise arrives on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad as a gratis download, though there are (naturally) a slew of in-app purchases that... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ipod touch #in-app purchases #electronic arts #canadian publisher


LinkedIn Partners With Startup to Curate Content for Brands

More usually equals better—unless you're talking about the Internet. In the social sphere, the dearth of user-generated content (Twitter claims to host more than 340 million tweets per day) can be a hazard for those looking to tweet and post items that help bring buzz to their brand. This is... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #twitter page #big step


News Corp Launches Global Private Ad Exchange

News Corp today announced plans to launch a global programmatic ad exchange that will let advertisers buy across its more than 50 online and mobile products including WSJ.com, Times.co.uk and NYPost.com. News Corp is far from the first to jump on the automated selling trend; other premium... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing arm #rupert murdoch #rubicon project #trading desks #business units


Easily find free ebooks

Summer’s winding down, but there’s still time to score free ebooks for any vacation reading. In this video, we’ll show you you where to go online to get free books, which are often classic novels now in the public domain. You’ll want to start with Project Gutenberg’s site, which offers the most... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #public domain #project gutenberg #plain text #kindle version #kindle app #worth checking


Livefyre Looks to Turn Social Media into Custom Native Ads

The Web publishing services firm Livefyre has started turning social media content into native advertising for a handful of publishers. Livefyre—which offers publishers social tools like commenting, live blogs and live chats—built Playstation-sponsored social hubs for IGN and AOL's Joystiq... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Spiral of decline' for Anglesey's libraries

The Isle of Anglesey County Council has been warned that its library service faces a "spiral... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NASA's Massive Free E-Book Collection

Who could resist Exploring Space With a Camera? Or Rockets and People, the autobiography of rocket designer Boris Chertok?     Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can Foreign Authors Use China’s Social Media to Acquire Readers?

China's Douban is experimenting with crowdsourced translations of English literature, including SF and short stories by David Mitchell. Can it help authors enter the market? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #foreign authors #english literature #short stories #david mitchell