I've never tried to keep it secret. I'm a junkie. A news junkie. I usually read 10 different Internet news sites a day. Sometimes more. Seven days a week.
So you might think it strange that I think that newspaper websites are making a mistake by letting me read them for free. I think I should be paying them something to satisfy my habit.
Not a lot, of course, but something.
Let me explain.
First, I need to say that when I use the term "newspaper," I really mean "journalism." My use of the term "newspaper" reflects the fact that most of the journalism I read actually comes from newspapers. There are other sources of news, though. It's just that newspapers have historically been the best, and main, source.
What does this have to do with technology? A lot.
Technology in general, and the Internet especially, has been a game-changer for newspapers the last few years.
If you're like most people, you don't think much about newspapers themselves. You just think about the information they present to you. This would be natural.
But the fact is that there is an awful lot of work that goes into making that paper you're reading.
An editor once told me that the news business is the only business that has to put out a different product every day. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, that people never see or think about.
I know. I took part in it for 33 years.
People have to do that work. And get paid for it. News stories, done right, don't get done for free, and the money to produce the news product has to come from somewhere.
Here's where changes in technology come in.
Traditionally, most of the money to produce news comes from advertisers who want their commercial message piggybacked onto the delivery of the news.
And newspapers were always, by far, the biggest delivery mechanism for news content.
So advertisers used (and paid) newspapers _ a lot.
Now, the Internet has created many more avenues for advertisers to use, so newspapers are getting a smaller piece of the pie. Advertising on their websites has helped, but it doesn't add up to the business that papers used to have, and many are cutting back on staff and products. Some have even folded up.
Of course, business in general evolves all the time, and I wouldn't normally worry about a particular sector if evolution was phasing it out. Newspapers, however, are something special. We really need them.
A long time ago, Thomas Jefferson said: "... were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter," and I think that message is still valid.
So I think that organizations that do a good job of producing news should be supported. And using their product for free (although they do get a small amount from the ads that appear on the website) isn't really supporting them much.
The problem with compensating them arises when we begin to talk about the amount. If we're going to be fair about paying for news, which is the whole point of my argument _ that we should be fair _ then the papers should also be fair when they figure out how much to ask.
A great deal of the cost of the traditional newspaper is in the printing and distribution of it. Printing presses are very expensive, and newsprint is usually the second largest expense a newspaper has, after salaries.
But when news is distributed on the Internet, you don't need to buy newsprint or run the printing operation or pay to have people bring you the paper.
So when the cost of an online subscription is calculated, it would only be fair to exclude those costs from consideration. It only makes sense.
Operating a Web server doesn't cost nearly as much as printing and distribution, and Internet subscribers shouldn't be expected to pay for printing.
Don't be surprised if you begin to see news websites begin to ask for payment, in some way, in the not-too-distant future. And if you read them, it's only right that you should give them something for what they've given you.
And my comment to newspaper executives would be to charge a fair amount for an online subscription, and you'll be likely to get it. After all, people know when they're getting something of value. But get greedy and ask too much, and you'll likely get zip. Your readers are not fools, either.
Bruce Endries is former systems manager at The Daily Star. He can be reached by e-mail at techgp@dailystarmail.com.
