Build the Wall Analysis

Section 1- this section is about how as an audience we should pay for traditional, high quality journalism, or not receive it at all.

Section 2- this section presents how newspaper giants need to take a step in order to change the landscape, where quality news is reported by professional journalists, rather than citizen journalists and advertising.

Section 3- this section presents how the newspaper industry ignored the rising threat of the internet and how it acted like a disease that started small, but wasn’t recognised before the damage was done, similarly  new media came up like a disease.

Section 4- in this section Simons, talks about three scenarios, the first being the pay wall is successful and that the audience is willing to pay for quality, the second scenario states that newspapers become local to their regions and online pay walls go up. The final scenario states that all small newspapers are eviscerated and only unique and essential newspapers have survived.

Summary

David Simons, in this article is demonstrating his personal view and perspective about the decimation of the news industry, he begin s starting off with what the newspapers that are on top have, that make them sell more, and that is high quality professional journalism, that is paid for, rather than citizen journalism that is unprofessional, and if the audience is not willing to pay for their news they shouldn’t receive it at all. The media institutions that Simons talks about states how influential they are and that since they are influential they should use it to change the landscape of the newspaper world. David Simons also mentions how the threat of new and digital media was seen, but never acknowledged as a great by the news giants, and thus suffered as the damage was severely done when it was realized as a supreme threat. David Simons finishes off with 3 scenarios, one that is beneficial to all, one that is a complete balance and the third is the where that newspaper industry only survives through the unique institutions.   

Comments

Ø  “A monopoly! Exactly the right way to go - can I get some fries with that?” #4 Posted by Wild Bill on Thu 16 Jul 2009 at 01:13 PM, this agrees with Simon’s opinion as it makes jokes about how NDM has become a monopoly.

Ø  “My issue with publishers building an interactive strategy of charging for content is that the very act of charging effectively closes the doors on any number of new interactive businesses that publishers might reasonably pursue. Charging for content is a strategy that places the survival of the existing product first and ignores the needs of businesses and consumers who might otherwise help publishers create numerous new revenue streams. Instead of thinking of the online newspaper as an end in and of itself (or as a way to support printed newspapers), think of it as the entry point into a system of interlocking new products and services. The free newspaper Web site is the aggregation magnet that brings a large audience into the system. The site then qualifies those customers for a wide variety of other products and services that meet the needs of paying business customers (e.g., lead-generation services, transaction fulfilment services, audience development and management services, and so on). If you strangle the size of your original audience by charging them (in the notion that the only business opportunity before you is porting the newspaper over to the Web), you stifle any number of opportunities down the pipeline, opportunities that are made possible by a free and easy-to-access aggregation site up front.” #5 Posted by John Granatino on Thu 16 Jul 2009 at 01:22 PM, this opinion agrees with the opinion

Ø  Please do this. Authoritative resources are being lost in the Wikipedia world. One must go around the world to find authoritative on the ground reporting. I would pay for it, no question. #8 Posted by Judy on Fri 17 Jul 2009 at 11:47 AM. This opinion clearly agrees with Simon’s opinion and wants to pay for reliable news.

My opinion

My opinion is that newspapers have been the foundation and original source of news on all platforms as news was first written and sent out through them , but nowadays newspaper have been sidelined and pushed away in order to use applications and sites, as they are faster, more recent and short. Personally, I think that the pay wall should go up as the dying world of news has dumb down audience in to looking at listicles and pictures of cats. This will at least give us as readers high quality journalism.