Of course its a serious point. Although 85% of the population may now have used the internet, a lower total have ready access at home via a laptop / desktop - and many that do would prefer to read a physical copy, whether on the bus, in the kitchen or in their favourite armchair. It's been a constant thorn in the side of the IT industry that too many "IT experts" fail to understand what the people really want.Sara Pascoe wrote:You're not actually serious are you? ;) I would say that the only people that don't have the Internet readily available to them are OAPs, every other age range has taken it up and that's not going to change. If enough people are interested in the ET and its content then they should go to a fully online e-paper and use micro-payments from readers and advertising as a way of generating revenue. Loads do this via Amazon now, especially since you can have newspapers and magazines delivered straight to Kindle.STAGMAN wrote:From my point of view i am disgusted by this and very much look forward to my evening paper, it will affect us a great deal and most of the county clubs wil be hit by this . A lot of people still do not have or use the internet, greedy bloddy propritors
DISGUSTED FROM RUSHDEN
http://media.ofcom.org.uk/facts/
I accept some people are happy staring at a tiny 4 inch smartphone screen to pick up news stories there, but how many adverts do they spot at the same time? There is a clear model in the printing industry regarding free newspapers, whether daily or weekly - perhaps the Johnson Group should have looked at that. I've tried the free trial of the Daily Telegraph on Kindle via a Tablet PC - but you need to remember to download the current version before struggling with Internet access on a train. I use Kindle far more using the PC client where I can read publications on a decent size screen, and where I do want access to a "newspaper" whilst travelling I'll use the Android version of the Daily Mail - which is free. Kindle is fine for books, but I'd be interested to know how popular it is for newpapers.
In Bedford we haven't had a daily newspaper for as long as I can remember, but I will only look at the equivalent "Bedford Today" website if there is a notable news story in the area - which I might hear about on local radio or TV. Given that is also produced by the Johnson Group people, and they haven't recognised much sooner that the site is dreadfully designed, I don't expect to see much improvement anytime soon with the ET site.
The fact they are focussing on the Iphone / Ipad suggests they don't realise there is a recession on, and many prefer the much cheaper Android phones (when did you last see an Iphone at around £50 on Pay-as-You-Go?)
Everything has a time and a place, and I use my smartphones as much as the next person, but I certainly wouldn't read the online version of the Metro ahead of the print copy I pick up at the station - and hence I do get to see the adverts that justify that paper being free.