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As digital versions of what used to be bought and read papers continue to invade publishing popularity, News Corp. announced that it has attracted 105,000 paying customers since it began charging for access to their Web sites in June. This number, which includes regular subscribers as well as those who just dropped by to check out an article or two, is another answer publishers have been seeking to find as print revenue continues to go down.
“These figures very clearly show that large numbers of people are willing to pay for quality journalism in digital formats,” said Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News International, the London-based arm of News Corp. that publishes The Times papers.
Almost a month ago, Conde Nast was reported to have undergone significant restructuring in order to get abreast with the growing preference for the digital content. Although content is still handled by the print team, more and more digital alignment is done to attract digital ad sales.
Among many others, Jim Chisholm, a newspaper consultant in Lille, France, believed that the move of News Corp. is not a one-time answer to the raising concern for the print market when he said, “Much as we all want newspapers to succeed and make money, in a market as rough and crowded as the U.K., The Times pay wall was always going to be a tall order.”
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