Profitability in the internet age

The news media which used to be just radio, television, and the newspaper, now has a lot more players.  The Internet has opened opportunities for just about anyone handy with a computer to try their hand at reporting.   Because access to news on the internet has generally been free to the public, it has been difficult to make a web-based news business profitable.  Now many newspapers are beginning to implement user fees.  Recently the Times Herald announced that it would be charging for access to some of their web-based news content.  Of course, the response was as expected – many people don’t like the idea of paying for something that used to be free.  Even though I’m a radio guy, I see great value for our community to have a healthy local newspaper.  In this age of the Internet either they find a way to stay profitable or we all lose.