Newsflash: The Times online paywall is broken, meaning that until the problem is rectified, all its content has been set free on to the well populated plains of the rest of the internet. Get your skates on though, as it won’t be around for long. The best part? It’ll probably create a sharp spike in traffic headed to The Times, giving Murdoch a handy graph to compare paywall, no paywall, side by side.
Tagged ‘paywall’
After our report last week of The Times iPad app crashing, we received a comment, which acknowledged that yes, there were problems with the app, and The Times “is working ’round the clock to get these fixed as soon as possible for our customers viewing with the iPad”.
The person doing the firefighting on The Times behalf? A lone work experience kid. Delving into the Electricpig comments system we unearthed the e-mail address: prefixed with “work experience” at the PR firm who deals with The Times iPad app. Surely, Murdoch’s reputation deserves a little more care and attention than that? He’s on the cusp of a digital revolution here!
The Times and Sunday Times‘s highly anticipated paywall starts properly today. Murdoch is going into the wilderness, charging £1 a day or £2 a week for access. The rest of print media meanwhile, watches from a safe distance to see whether The Times will come out alive, except Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who’s vowing never to subscribe to the tetchy iPad app again.