Creating Models for Paid Online News Content

By Steve Byers

The most interesting part of a nifty chart that PaidContent.org offers to the content of America’s six fairly large newspapers to have erected (or ready to erect) pay walls is the case of the smallest paper listed, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The paper of roughly 171,000 subscribers never went free online but offers the online version free to all print subscribers. It claims to have held its circulation with readers continuing to buy the print edition.

There are more than six American newspapers with paywalls – if you count those like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with part of its content walled off (‘Packers Plus’ in the JS‘s case; it’s very successful).

As you would expect, models of the marketing plans range all over the place with differences from price ($1.48 to $5 a week) to free for print subscribers (5 of 6) to what’s free and what’s behind the wall. I think we’re going to see a real rush of struggling content providers moving to some form of pay wall, despite the naysayers out there.

Steve Byers is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism at Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication.

Turnitin.com and Other Resources Against Plagiarism

By Lauren Haberkorn

Plagiarism has always been an issue in the academic world, but as new tools for detection have become available, students, teachers, and professionals have become more aware of just how big of an issue plagiarism really is. The media has done its job of making us aware of the many accusations of plagiarism that seem to multiple right before our eyes. We are left to wonder—is plagiarism on the rise, or have we only just begun to catch it?

Many students in the university setting are aware of the increase in plagiarism awareness. With the start of the new school year, teachers have reinforced the existing rules and introduced students to new resources, such as turnitin.com. Upon a teacher’s request, students are required to use a class code and password, set up a user name, and submit his or her paper to the website. The website can detect plagiarism that teachers may not have caught themselves, and can access thousands of resources a student may have copied from, or failed to cite.

Remembering Dr. John Grams

The Diederich College of Communication remembers Dr. John Grams, who died Monday, March 14. Grams was an Associate Professor of Broadcast and Electronic Communication who taught courses in television/radio broadcasting and  jazz history at the University for 47 years. He also wrote a number of books about toy trains, and was a contributor to the publication Classic Toy Trains.

Read the story in Marquette University Online News Briefs (March 17, 2011)