JoshHallidayDotNet

Hypothetical situation: I live in Alnwick, Northumberland, I want to know whether I’ll be able to get home tonight if I venture out to tidy up the loose ends of Christmas shopping. I want a weather forecast, a road gritting plan, and maybe even a map that takes this data and shows me where to avoid – but I’m not going to hold my breath.

This from the Northumberland Gazette, the Johnston Press title at the forefront of the paid-content test.

What does this front page say to you? To me it screams, ‘We have no idea what we’re charging for, no contemplation of the shifting ethical ground of charging for content, and little to no thought of the perception of future consumers of the Northumberland Gazette.’

To my mum, your average local news consumer, it screams, ‘Woah, hold on there. You’re not allowed here. Go on, click the little x on Internet Explorer and be on your way.’

Good luck to them in 2010 I say, more power to HoHound and The Ambler. Best have a think on about how you can work together, compliment your respective expertise.

Andy Dickinson (@DigiDickinson) hit the nail on the head when he blogged his thoughts on the Gazette perception of premium content:

If I am going to pay someone for this stuff then one of the things I should want to know is just how accurate their content is and how transparent they are.

I for one would like to see all corrections and clarifications made free and visible on all parts of media orgs websites before the paywall. That way I can make an informed choice.

If the Press Complaints Commission truly insist on creeping in the direction of the Web, I suggest their starting point be paywalled news providers.