Online Newspaper Subscriptions?

The timing of the previous blog was coincidental. Minutes after publishing it, I can across the following story from Editor and Publisher.com

The nation's top newspaper executives gathered at a Chicago O'Hare airport hotel today to discuss charging for online content and protecting intellectual property.

The summit was initiated by the Newspaper Association of America in response to the recent hearings on Capitol Hill. John Sturm, the NAA's CEO, told E&P the event's purpose was to bring together top publishers to "discuss how best to support and preserve the traditions of newsgathering that will serve the American public."

Sturm said those gathered discussed such topics as protection of intellectual property rights, as well as possible approaches to Congress and Administration to address these and other issues.

I took this as being a slight nod in the direction of Google and others. Intellectual properly and content rights management is becoming a more central area for online debate. It is one that Pingar welcomes. The Newspaper Association of America's concerns are well founded. Democracies require fiercely independent media. That relies on having the resources necessary to find the stories, research and then publish them. That costs. So revenue generation AND protection becomes more important.

It is a debate to follow.