Comments on: I Want It Free

By: LIS degrees are a joke

LIS degrees are a joke — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:55:20 +0000

Oh No! I have to pay for the New York Times online? Who wants to read that crap? Their staff is just a bunch of liars who distort the news with their Obama worshiping agenda. I wouldn’t read it if I was paid to. Mmmm…mmm…mmmm.

By: Onestupidlibrarian

Onestupidlibrarian — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:19:02 +0000

Hey theilliteratelibrarin, ever hear of writing in English?

By: TheIlliterateLibrarian

TheIlliterateLibrarian — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:54:22 +0000

@webdoyenne show me some good journalism, and then we can talk about whether it’s worth paying for, or not. There’s very little actual journalism transpiring, so I don’t feel bad for not wanting to pay for the same tired old news and perspectives I can get off CNN, with the same poor fact-checking and verification in an attempt to get the story out *first* even if they’re not getting it out *right*. Or doing a report of someone else’s report. How many times do I see “The Times of London is reporting that….” there’s no actual investigative reporting going on there. Heck, I’d be more impressed if they just ran the AP wire report, instead of doing a book report based on some other company’s actual journalism. I haven’t paid for a newspaper in at least fifteen years. In these lean times, newspapers and other news organizations have to earn their keep. IMPRESS me with your journalistic skills, hard-hitting and relevant stories, and above all, your integrity. THEN we will talk about subscription fees. I’ll pay for quality. Most news outlets today are not quality. However, if it comes to paying for marginal crap via the Times, or not paying for complete and total crap from the internet, I’ll just stick with the free stuff–in the end it’s all crap.

By: Ray Lyons

Ray Lyons — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:50:17 +0000

The various connotations for the word “free” muddy this discussion some. May I suggest the more precise term “100% subsidized”? Also, at the risk of idealizing the “old print world,” it might interest readers to know that there is a two hundred year old precedent for 100% subsidized access to information. In his book Faith in Reading: Religious Publishing and the Birth of Mass Media in America (Oxford Univ. Press, 2004) David Nord describes the earliest fully subsidized production and distribution model in U.S. publishing.

By: Dr. Brooks

Dr. Brooks — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:44:35 +0000

Thanks for the chuckle!! > Seventeen possums in a sixteen possum ba commented:

I WANT TO BE PAID

if I have to read Brooks or Dowd or Friedman.

By: Michigan J Frog

Michigan J Frog — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:03:55 +0000

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Likewise free news.

You pay somewhere,somehow.

If you don’t and let someone else pay for you that is theft.

Theft has a long history of being a crime going back to “thou shall not steal”.

If you think that someone else has a brighter and shinier content and you should be able to have it for free, that is covered too, “thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s ass”. That covers internet news and porn.

By: Dr. Mel

Dr. Mel — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:17:37 +0000

“FREE? Did remember you have to pay your ISP bill each month? High speed internet service is not cheap.”

Amen.

I find it galling just how much my ISP has to pay to these thugs over at the newspaper. It is a scandal.

By: 17 possums in a 16 possum bag

17 possums in a 16 possum bag — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:26:05 +0000

Speaking of cheapness, let’s hope Chip isn’t as stingy with the olives as someone is with name display space…

Anywhowhatwherewhy, would anyone pay to read AL? That is, in addition to losing a few minor ganglia every time we visit, especially when we post these inanities. I’d be willing to cough up a large sack of lemons once or twice a year for the privilege.

By: Seventeen possums in a sixteen possum ba

Seventeen possums in a sixteen possum ba — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:08:58 +0000

I WANT TO BE PAID

if I have to read Brooks or Dowd or Friedman.

By: Dr. Brooks

Dr. Brooks — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:32:48 +0000

FREE? Did remember you have to pay your ISP bill each month? High speed internet service is not cheap.