Would You Pay For Web Content?

Are you willing to pay for information you get from the web?

That is a question that is being raised in light of Google’s decision to limit the amount of free information people can obtain via Google News . The aggregator site currently allows users to access full stories from newspapers and magazines.

Publishers, most notably Rupert Murdoch, have stated that sites like Google News generate money using their content, and it is time for them to be adequately compensated.

Their reasoning is that reporters, writers, and editors must be paid, so it’s not fair that third parties benefit from their investment. Murdoch plans on putting all of his companies’ content behind a paywall.

People will be watching Murdoch closely because traditional media outlets are struggling to stay profitable. Their stories are read by more people than ever before, but revenues are falling as web advertising dollars fail to materialize. We have seen venerable papers like the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune declare bankruptcy while the gay media is still stunned by the abrupt closures of the Washington Blade and Southern Voice .

The Boston Consulting Group released a study in November 2009 that said people are willing to pay $3 a month for online news. But is this amount enough to make it worthwhile for publishers?

I know many people believe the advent of the internet means never having to pay for anything, whether it be music, movies, software, or information. But I am not convinced that people can get something for nothing.

It may be free to us as web surfers, but most content from blogs and other sites is generated from someone who incurred costs to produce that work. If they are unable to be compensated for their work, it makes sense to assume that at some point they won’t be able to continue providing the information that drives most internet activity. It is no different than any other business that closes for lack of paying customers.

One solution may be to make internet access a public utility like water and electricity. With internet service providers being private companies, I am not sure how the financial details would be resolved. But some sort of government involvement may be the ideal answer to a nagging question that will not go away in the near future.