OK, would you pay $12 a year to read a daily media blog? 12 bucks, (a dollar a month).
I have tried, through limited advertisers, to make this a free site, but time and effort is costly. I'm trying to be fair. I value you ALL my readers, all of you, good and bad, allies and adversaries, you're my lifeblood.
This site continues to grow daily. The page view count is nearing a million after only three years. For better or worse, people read 415 Media--I'm grateful, but in order to maintain the freshest of content, I need some financial resources.
Beginning Sept. 1, this site will be $12 a year. That's a dollar a month. I'm trying to be fair. I know times are tough, but really, a buck a month is not too much to ask for, is it?
(Insert first troll comment).
There are those of you who will say "no thanks" and for that, I completely understand. Hey, no need to explain, it's your call.
Believe it or not, much of this is time-consuming and while I enjoy writing it, your feedback, (pro and con), I simply can't do anymore without some moolah, it's that simple.
Again, 12 bucks. For the year. A dollar a month.
*A paypal account will be set up--watch this site for future directions.
Rich, I believe that's fair, you do offer a service no one else offers in the bay. Where do I sign up?
ReplyDeletewow,the doors to speak out are being closed left and right. No more free voice. After paying to get internet..now sites want on top of that?
ReplyDeleteMaybe..half that..Have to think about it.
Whatever the various reasons...posting is getting tighter,harder to do.
I love this blog Rich and I understand the financial opportunities one sees in producing one- one that is gaining in popularity. I however have been trying to holdout paying for news content. News outlets from the NY Times and SF Chronicle to the VERY local The Tuskegee News wants to try out a pay wall. I have to say no thanks at this time. I wish you good luck but I'm holding out until this apparently becomes the norm. I will say that $1 a month is a fair price though.
ReplyDeleteRich's medication to control his bi-polar disorder is getting expensive
ReplyDeleteRich, I enjoy reading your blog and commenting from time to time; however I would not pay $12 a year to read and comment. Good luck when the pay wall is erected.
ReplyDeleteOooohhh goodie! You mean I can now PAY to see the manic depressiveness on full display? The constant sexism, the fucked-out bashing of 7Live, KNBR, KGO Radio and KRON? The poutiness, the hypocracy and the no-really-I-mean-it-this-time-hiatus of the week? Where do I sign up! lol (uh, NOT)
ReplyDeletefor a lot of the content you provide I'd say $1 a month is very fair, but then there are the blogs of nothing but unsubstantiated rumors, hate and jealousy that makes me feel like free is paying too much... will think it over
ReplyDeleteI dunno...
ReplyDeleteA dollar a month may not seem like a lot, but when I buy something I want to feel that I get some value for the investment. My main beef is that there are too many rants, too much sports talk and not enough serious commentary. Another thing I don't like at all is that the moderator (you, Rich?) allows posts that are outrageously sexist and often racist. OTOH,
I do come here often because I'm interested in the topic and don't know any other local media blogs.
I'd have to think about the $12.
I probably would not pay the $12/year. It's a fair price - as other posters have noted.
ReplyDeleteI don't like how your blog gravitates towards sports talk. I really could care less about KNBR or Gary Radnich.
I don't think so Mr. Media. I can not justify paying for your night's out smooching with the NBC weather lady. There are so many blogs out there that are free and more entertaining. Maybe if your blog was more professional, filled with more facts and not joke names, more advertisers would jump on board. Although I doubt it. Good luck, your readership just dropped to maybe a few dozen. Speaking of your millions of so called readers, how many of those are 'unique' users? It is likely a few hundred users checking your site multiple times. So long Mr. Media.
ReplyDeleteRich, I read your blog every day - $12 is nothing for the good work you do here! count me in...
ReplyDeleteI remember when Bill Mann tried a paywall years ago with his "Mann About Town" site. I don't think that went well at all, if memory serves me right.
ReplyDeleteIf the content were more consistent, I'd pay in a heartbeat. As it is now, I don't think I'd pony up the eight bits a month. It's not a freeloading thing; it's a belief in supporting and rewarding a quality product.
Let me urge you to stick with the ad-supported model for a little while longer, so that you can give yourself a fighting chance by building a better quality product day in and day out. Then you should move to a paywall if you deem it necessary, and I think the net result would be a better one for you.
Bay Area media criticism is a niche that's been sorely lacking for years. I applaud your attempt to fill it, Rich. I visit the site several times daily; partly because good stuff can be found here on occasion, and partly with the hope that you'll take yourself (and your readers) seriously enough that you hone your craft and deliver better insight into the market you cover.
"I'm only a blogger" is a cop-out. You're a writer, or at least I think that's your aspiration. You need to start acting like it. The ad hominem shit might be cathartic for you, but it doesn't serve you well. Save your bullets; the occasional stiletto dig of a few judiciously chosen words make a bigger impact.
Whatever your decision, I wish you well. I see the promise in your work, and I sincerely hope you fulfill it.
What if you dont get a certain minimum number of suscribers..or its just the corporations who will pay...what would you do?... what would it be like if your majority of payer's are the KRONS,KNBR,Comcast employees? Is that going to change your views?
ReplyDeleteIt's one thing to observe you being an ass for free, but you'll never see a nickel of my money. That's a promise.
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to pay $12 a year, if the focus of your site wasn't so narrow. Take out the discussion of sports media and sports personalities, and what have ya got? Not much at this site.
ReplyDeleteThe changes occurring in the media these days are really important and merit extensive coverage. However, the LEAST important aspect of that is what's happening in the sports media.
If you don't mention anything ever again about sports media and sports personalities, I'd probably sign up. The way it is now though, this site usually (but not always) is a waste of my time. I simply cannot pay for that. Good luck Rich, and if your site improves, I will sign up.
How is Glenn Dickey doing with his paywall?
ReplyDeleteass, gas, or grass, nobody reads for free!!!!!
ReplyDelete$1 a month to make me feel like I'm not the wack job? PRICELESS!!
ReplyDeletePay walls/subscriptions are always a dicey proposition for blogs. NewsBlues does it and so does FTVLive, though I doubt neither Mike or Scott is making rolling in the dough on account of it.
ReplyDeleteICN has never earned a dime. I could probably throw up banner ads for this or that. When ICN 1.0 was running I was averaging 11K hits a day. When I took the blog into hibernation for two months and relaunched it in a scaled down version to maintain my sanity, the hit count was substantially lower. 2010 saw 375,000 uniques, up 20K from 2009. ICN looks to surpass the 2010 levels this year though not by much.
A subscription model was never something I was interested in doing, though I'd been told I had enough hits that it could be justified. My objection to the sub model was philosophical - ICN is based heavily on aggregation of a sort and though both FTVLive and NewsBlues' content is weighted heavily towards regurgitation, for me personally I wasn't comfortable with making money based on other people's work.
415 Media doesn't really have to contend with that issue as I rarely see you link or quote other sites. The danger of course in going with a subscription model is the thorny issue of reader buy in. You won't know whether it will work until you implement it.
I would probably pay. I enjoy the blog. One commentor commented about the sexist and racist comments. If you take that away, you take away part of the fun of commenting here. Free speech. Fire away. I was going to say I'd pay $12 a year if you somehow get ahold of and post nude pics of Darya but then that commentor had to ruin it with his comment about sexist comments, etc. People hang posters of Farrah on their wall, is that sexist? I can dream of Darya....
ReplyDeleteI enjoy this blog. but I dont enjoy the "Everyone hates me so they can all blow" rants. I dont want to pay for that.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to be a full time subscriber. I think $12 is a bargain! Hey Rich..you talk about a lot of the 'big names' in our business...how about a mention of one of the hard working, local
ReplyDeletetraffic/sports reporters such as me in your blog?
I go to a lot of games and break a lot of stories!
A paywall? Seriously? For what?
ReplyDeleteDo you take EBT? This is California.
ReplyDeleteare you paying us $12 per month....not enough sorry
ReplyDeleteHey Rich- When are you going to talk about Ron Barr? Great interviewer, solid force in the market, and he was the key who convinced Eddie D to hire Bill Walsh back in 1979 when Ron was dong Stanfo9rd football on the radio. Ever hear his call of the Play from 1982? Great call..much better than that dweeb Starkey!. Plus he started his own network and is now being heard world-wide.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad he's not on either KNBR or "the Game" because he'd be a much better listen with his quick wit, his biting commentary and his intelligent questions than Raddy, Damon, Brynsie, the mid day gigglers, the morning frat boys, Ralph and Tom, and all the non-entities on the new FM. Let's hear some good Ron Barr stories Richie! I know you must have some good ones!
"Hey Rich, do you know I'm now on 469 stations nationwide, plus the armed forces radio network?
My wife is rich and helped bankroll my operation, but DON'T YA DARE GO AWAY!- Ron Barr
seeing your blog for the first time today. read through the last dozen week's posts. i was entertained and amused, but blogs are free. people don't pay for blogs. especially blogs devoted to insider information on regional AM radio.... puzzling that you would imagine this a salable commodity.
ReplyDelete@7:32 if you think Rich is some sort of Free Speech leader you are extremely naive. Why do you think he moderates the blog? I know for a fact that thoughtfully critical posts are not allowed to see the light of day. He'd rather drive the nasty moronic discourse because unfortunately it attracts readership; it is fine free of charge but not worth even 1 cent to read. It is akin to paying $12 to watch Maury Povich...
ReplyDeleteI'm a NewsBlues subscriber and I'll do so here as long as you maintain the quality.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rich for the blog. But count me out.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to justify charging for this website (content?) when their are so many free options available to us.
Good luck.
I'd pay for a couple of months to see if the signal/noise ratio improves (and I do, in fact, pay $5/month to subscribe to a specialized blog in another area of interest), but if it remains mostly substanceless rants and puff pieces (e.g., Bachelor story, BBQ piece, Barbara Simpson blurb), I'm not sticking around.
ReplyDeleteI would never complain about the content (might disagree, but never complain) if it's free, but my standards go way up when money's leaving my paypal.
No thanks! Too much talk about sports media
ReplyDeleteGoodluck
Rich,
ReplyDelete$12 per year is a reasonable charge for reading your amusing blog. I'm in. A piece of advice for your consideration? Just continue to keep it real and don't let the paying customers influence your criticism of the Bay Area media. Good luck.
no thanks
ReplyDeleteMan Rich, sorry, but although I am a big fan of your work, I will not pay $12 a year for it. I won't pay anything for it. Just like I tuned out KPIX since their self-destruction, I will now tune out this page once it becomes a pay site. Man, what is the world coming to???
ReplyDelete--Bob Smith on Facebook
Cheap bastards! cough up 12 bucks.
ReplyDeleteAll you do is regurgitate the same manic bullshit about the same entities every day. How hard/time-consuming can that really be?
ReplyDeleteI'd pay a buck a month for the drivel you disseminate; you're occasionally funny and the responses you elicit are sometimes priceless.It's puzzling some expect substance when the terrain e.g. (AM radio and local television) you traverse is devoid of it.
ReplyDeleteTimes are tough for me, too. Sorry Rich, but I will have to say goodbye and get my scoop somewhere else. I won't pay anything for the NY Times, and I won't pay anything for your blog. Best of luck in the future.
ReplyDeleteI would pay, Rich, especially if there was less Sports news and more about news. I could care less about Radnich.
ReplyDeleteI might come back in the future if you are free again, i just read for fun and certainly would not pay for a blog.
ReplyDeleteWho is ron barr??
I'm not going to pay -- I barely want to read it for free. And to be honest, the timing seems bad. Lately this blog has become more of a train wreck than usual.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to think about: The one thing of value that you do provide is the occasional local media scoop. That will become pretty much meaningless with a pay wall.
Best of luck, though.