Video killed the radio star, but the radio survived. Almost 30 years later, MTV rarely airs a video. The Newspaper industry is clearly in free fall and finds itself pitted against a menacing foe: A digital world.

Publishers must carefully weigh the benefits of advertising and a subscription based revenue models.

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If rumors prove true, Apple could have another breakthrough product that turns the publishing world on it's ear.

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As of September 30, 2009, The New York Times ranked third among the largest Newspapers in the United States.

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Will free digital content spell the ultimate demise of this tried and true $35 billion industry?

Instant gratification and up to the second information drive the new digital world. The iconic vision of the business person sitting down to their morning cup of coffee and nutritious breakfast while browsing their daily paper is gone forever; now we check our favorite news sites, rss feeds, Facebook and Twitter on our phones and throughout the day on our computers. Because we are in charge of our choices and the information we want to read, we can search and find only the news that interests us.

How can the newspaper survive?

Starting in early 2011 The New York Times will begin charging for access to it's content. The exact details of how their pay wall will work are not fully known, but it appears that visitors to NYTimes.com will have access to a certain number of articles free each month before being asked to pay a flat rate fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the print edition will receive full access to the site's content, which they hope will lessen the blow to existing subscribers and increase the number of new ones. It's a bold move from the nations third largest newspaper by circulation, but could prove to be disastrous.

In 2005, the NYT began a subscription-based service for daily columns that it ultimately discontinued two years later. At the time, the NYT believed that subscription fees could not outweigh the potential ad revenue from the increased traffic of a free site. Similar to other media, newspapers are dependent on revenue streams from both advertising and subscriptions. It's yet to be seen whether the same model that succeeded for print will transition completely on the web. The two problems with pay walls is that they typically cannibalize a sites traffic that could otherwise be monetized by advertising, and they make it almost impossible to build thriving user communities. The declining number of print subscribers and online advertising revenues lost to the rest of the internet (especially Google) undoubtedly have the NYT scrambling to further capitalize on their digital content. The NYT has wisely decided to take a full year to plan and execute the move.

Content behind a pay wall has proven successful for some. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) has done quite well, but their readership is very different than the NYT. The WSJ boasts the highest median annual household income among print publications according to Mediamark Research and Intelligence's MRI Fall 2009 report. WSJ.com has been successful charging $1.99-a-week for it's digital content, less when ordered with a print subscription, but is that purely because of the affluence of their readers?

I personally think the WSJ's success in the paid content arena stems from the perception that they are an industry leading/official source for all things business related. Depending on the publics brand perception and how the NYT presents their content, they could potentially succeed using a similar model. At the same time, the NYT has numerous competitors, namely, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. If a majority of the NYT's competitors do not follow suit and choose to continue distributing content without pay walls or restriction, I don't see how their decision will prove to be wise.

The printed newspaper may very well fade into the background. Journalism is rapidly changing. E-readers and Apple's iPad may change the revenue streams completely, but the only way to guarantee future success and longevity lies in your brand's public perception. This is true whether your monetization goals revolve around paid content, advertising revenue, or a combination of both. Simplex Creative Group has the experience and ability to improve your existing site or build a new CMS site from the ground up. It's a very exciting time and we're glad to be a part of the future.