The Media's Paywall Obsession Won't Work for Most:
Many of us will, therefore, only pay a monthly fee towards one or two publications that we find really valuable; and, for most of us, that's probably a national broadsheet "paper of record" rather than a thin local edition. But the national papers of record can't realistically cover all local news of relevance across an entire country. Also, I've focused on American papers here, but this is a massive problem in Canada as well, and around the world.
(Via Pixel Envy)
I'm no fan of the subscription model but I found the idea that GDPR might drive change interesting:
Also on:Perhaps new legislation and the reclamation of our privacy online will spur the creation of small, privacy-focused advertiser networks again, akin to the Deck Network or something like the Outline's ad strategy. Perhaps we need more networks of bloggers, too, allowing readers to subscribe to several related websites at the same time, without creating barriers to readership with paywalls. Maybe there's a third and fourth source of money beyond readers and advertisers - I'm not sure. But non-giant entities, whether web-only or in print, need a funding solution for the future that isn't solely reliant upon massive traffic, Facebook referrals, or subscriptions.