Another day, another story about how the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is hanging in there by creating more content for the web and charging people to read their product online. “Newspaper experts say that the Democrat-Gazette’s approach may not sweep the industry, but it is starting to look like the notion that Internet users will never pay for content is fading and that publishers may soon be generating significant revenue streams online, especially as viewers begin to access information on devices such as Apple’s iPad,” says TV Week’s Jon Lafayette.
There’s an interesting bit further down in the story. Sam Eifling, of Arkansas Business, talks about a “well-run source on the Web.”
While there’s competition from local TV stations and an alternative weekly online, being behind a pay wall hasn’t affected the Democrat-Gazette’s status as the state’s leading paper. But there may be a downside.
“It’s tough to find people in my demographic bracket who read or talk about the Democrat’s music coverage or art coverage at all,” says Eifling, who is in his 20s. “And it’s largely because there’s a well-run source on the Web where information flows much more freely.”
And flow freely it will, as long as we’re able. The question of whether the Dem-Gaz’s web strategy has “helped,” as Eifling says, is debatable, though.