Subscriptions Are Taking Over News. What’s Next?

In case you haven’t noticed, digital paywalls are in vogue in the news industry. Wired, Business Insider and Bloomberg launched new ones recently. Jonah Peretti of BuzzFeed said “a partial paywall may make sense” for them. I’m going to spare you all what I think about this as Jessica the CEO of The Information. You’re not reading this column for my corporate talking points.

But, as a media and tech reporter, I think this is worth calling out. It will transform how newsrooms operate, the skills that newsroom staffs need and the products they build. The lessons are similar for other media companies launching new direct-to-consumer subscription streaming services in areas like video and entertainment.