Here are the results of the poll of NCPA members conducted in May 2009 concerning the status of charging for news content online.
Respondents answered only the questions that pertained to them (i.e. those papers that don't charge automatically skipped questions concerning how much they charged). Information that might identify the individual papers has been removed from this summary.
Paid Online Content
| 1. Does your newspaper currently have a Web site that includes news content? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Yes |  | 95.3% | 82 |
| No | | 4.7% | 4 |
| 2. Does your Web site offer an electronic replica (PDF) version of your printed product for download or viewing? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Yes | | 45.0% | 36 |
| Front page only | | 10.0% | 8 |
| No | | 45.0% | 36 |
| 3. Do you require users to register to access news content on your Web site (not including message boards or other similar features)? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Yes | | 23.8% | 19 |
| No | | 76.3% | 61 |
| 4. Does your newspaper charge any fees to access news content on your Web site (including requiring a print subscription)? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| All content is free | | 67.5% | 54 |
| A mixture of free and paid news content | | 32.5% | 26 |
| All news content requires payment for access | 0.0% | 0 | |
| 5. Are you considering instituting a charge to access your news content online? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Definitely | | 22.2% | 12 |
| Just thinking about it | | 55.6% | 30 |
| No | | 22.2% | 12 |
| 6. What factors are behind your consideration of a charge for online news content? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Response Count | ||
| view | 37 | |
| 7. What has kept you from making the change? (Click all that apply) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Don't know how to price it | | 50.0% | 13 |
| Don't know how to password protect our material | | 30.8% | 8 |
| Unsure of the public reaction | | 88.5% | 23 |
| viewOther (please specify) | 22 | ||
| 8. How long have you been charging for online access to your news content? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Between Jan. 1, 2009 and now | | 9.1% | 2 |
| Less than one year | | 13.6% | 3 |
| Less than two years | | 27.3% | 6 |
| Two years or more | | 50.0% | 11 |
| 9. Do you charge users to access... | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Web-based copy (i.e. stories in html or similar coding)? | 0.0% | 0 | |
| An electronic or replica (PDF) version of the printed product? | | 88.0% | 22 |
| Both? | | 12.0% | 3 |
| viewOther (please specify) | 6 | ||
| 10. How do you charge users? (Click all that apply) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Daily | | 4.8% | 1 |
| Weekly | | 4.8% | 1 |
| Monthly | | 66.7% | 14 |
| Annually | | 52.4% | 11 |
| viewOther (please specify) | 9 | ||
| 11. How much do you charge a user for one month's worth of access? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Response Count | ||
| view | 20 | |
| 12. What is the average monthly number of subscribers to your Web site news content? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Response Count | ||
| view | 21 | |
| 13. What is your monthly average number of subscribers to your printed product? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Response Count | ||
| view | 25 | |
| 14. Do you plan to continue charging for news content on your Web site? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Yes | | 68.6% | 24 |
| No | 0.0% | 0 | |
| Unsure | | 31.4% | 11 |
| 15. Your title | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Response Percent | Response Count | ||
| Publisher | | 58.8% | 40 |
| Editor (or top newsroom leader) | | 33.8% | 23 |
| General Manager | | 7.4% | 5 |
| viewOther (please specify) | 5 | ||