Pilot pay wall proposal is a red herring

 If The Virginian-Pilot, the dominant media voice in Tidewater, would ever charge the Public to read online news was never in question.

When The Pilot would do it, in imitation of other major dailies in the U.S., was the question.

That question has been answered – this summer.

But what baffles, bewilders and irritates me is the justification for charging a fee to read online news.

To pay journalists, The Pilot must charge for online access.

To offer more news, features and other fluff, The Pilot must charge for online news.

Because we have to pay those pesky journalists, we have to charge for online access.

Essentially, the head honchos at The Pilot are saying that we have to charge for online news because we have to pay journalists. 

In other words, journalists are responsible for all these costs, so if you want all this and more, you have to pay. This is a red herring.
Heaven forbid, you should trim the managerial staff.

Why not revamp the sales force and the sales philosophy?

Blasphemy.

Why not streamline redundant sales, managers and operations by shifting the operations of Targeted Media, which is owned by Landmark Media, to The Pilot?

How can you say such a thing?

What about those other costs that you never mentioned?

Editors, associate editors, managing editors, copy editors, designers, artists, the cost of newsprint, the cost of IT and so forth.

But, no, it’s the cost of journalists.

No one goes into journalism to get rich.

Most journalists know this, so they marry an investment broker, attorney, accountant or judge or hang a sign around their neck and say “I’m almost homeless and looking to marry a rich woman or man.”

Or they walk over to the business side of the ledger and become a general manager.

So now you want us to pay for news after giving it to us for free?

You should have thought of that a few years ago.

"Our work has great value," said Denis Finley, the editor of the newspaper. "We can't give it away anymore."

Let the market determine if “your” work has great value.

Let the market determine if people will pay for your news.

Don’t tell us you’re going to charge for news before you even think that people will pay for it.

There’s a smell of arrogance to this assumption.

"We need to ensure that we cover the cost of generating that journalism on multiple platforms, including the digital platform, where we are experiencing significant growth," said David melee, president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot.

Finley said digital subscribers will continue to see new features, including enhanced city pages - Norfolk's is scheduled to debut Tuesday - and a new Pilot app for tablet users, set to appear this summer. "We're not standing still," he said.

We also have the challenge of paying for it all, Melee said in an open letter to the Public. We employ more than 150 journalists who provide comprehensive coverage of Hampton Roads — reporting on government, politics, health, education, crime, transportation, military, business, sports, entertainment, and much more.

That journalism requires a significant investment in people, equipment, systems and support. 

Footnote: placing the justification for cost increases on journalists will only exacerbate an already dubious and controversial relationship with the Public.