Jonathan Holmes wants us to pay for stuff.
Today is the day that Fairfax papers Sydney Morning Herald and The Age introduce their paid subscription service. It is, potentially, a watershed moment for digital media in Australia, as readers can now read only 30 articles on theage.com.au for free each month before they have to start paying up.
It's fairly obvious why this is a big deal. Young Australians, like most people in the world with an internet connection, have grown up believing that news is not something we need to pay for. We never have, and as far as we knew, we never would — I mean, paying for news would almost be like paying for music or something. Who does that?
Under this new subscription service, however, our choices are clear — part with some cash, or get our news and political commentary elsewhere, before it passes through Annabel Crabb's sardonic filter. Sophie's Choice, anyone?
This development coincided nicely with last night's episode of Media Watch, which saw retiring host Jonathon Holmes issuing sick burns on his fellow journalists for the very last time (in a professional capacity, anyway — I'm sure he'll continue to make the occasional bitchy remark to nobody in particular while perusing his morning periodicals).
He used his farewell broadcast to implore the young folks to consider opening their minds to the idea of paying for news. "So my parting plea is this," he begged. "Whatever your politics, or your preferences, and even if you've never bought a newspaper, start subscribing to at least one media website: whether it's the Herald Sun or New Matilda, Crikey or the Sydney Morning Herald, old media or new, pay just a little to keep real journalism alive."
So, are you swayed? Will you pay for news and commentary? Or will you just keep waiting to see the lowlights for free on Media Watch?
