Where is the money in IP?

Where is the money in IP? Advertising plays a key role.

For centuries newspapers have had ads. In Abraham Lincoln’s day, during the American civil war, newspapers were just a few cents and were read by people at all levels of society. Couriers on horseback would carry speeches from the East Coast to the West Coast within days of Lincoln and his Team of Rivals presenting the speech to packed houses in the midst of political turmoil.

Everyone could know what was going on. The speeches lasted hours. The full text was published by many local newspapers throughout the land. Ubiquitous. Dinner conversations and breakfast dialogues focused on points in the speeches.

Today it is electronic. The newspaper publishers do not have a way of restricting readership to paid editions. Their texts are 'everywhere' on their own websites, and re-published 'everywhere'. So where does the money come from?

We have seen the Guardian in the UK expand into the USA with it's particular brand of publishing. This is to drive advertising. In addition, they are asking readers to please pay something towards their costs with popup links asking readers to pay £49 for the pleasure of reading.

So it is an echo of the business model in Abe Lincoln's day. It is the advertising that counts, not the paying public.

But there are strains. Will readers fund the operation out of the goodness of their hearts? At what point is a paywall constructed?

Guardian asking readers to donate money to continue its 'intelligent journalism'

In a piece revealing the London-based Guardian had 17 million hits to its website as the Brexit vote was counted last Friday, Ms Viner (Editor) urges readers to sign up as "supporters" paying £5 per month or to make a one off donation.