ONLINE NEWS: ALTERNATIVES TO PAYMENT

One method that some publishers use to distribute their magazines is called 'controlled free' distribution. It works best with trade titles and it means the magazine reaches an audience that is likely to be interested in its content. This method, if adapted to websites, might be one solution to the current online charging debate.

I get three or four free magazines connected with my profession. A while ago I spend a few minutes providing some basic information and, in return, I'm sent the magazines free of charge each month. This works for publishers because they know exactly how many copies to print, and they know exactly who is reading their magazine. That's valuable information - especially for advertisers.

I think the same business model could be adapted for websites, although I am not suggesting a two-minute sign-up for every single website you want to access. Perhaps one single sign-up could be good for 100 or more quality news websites. As well as getting clicks the publishers will also get demographic data about their readers - and that's something they don't currently have.

Many media industry commentators say the boat has already sailed in terms of getting readers to pay for online content. I'm not one who shares that view. I think when the content is unique and has value then readers will pay for it, however I stress the words 'unique' and 'value'. I agree readers will not pay to read general news online.

This model relies on revenue from advertisers as opposed to readers, but if an advertiser also has detailed demographic information about the readers they're more likely to pay, especially if they can also get direct access to that data as part of the deal. It's already happening in print so why wouldn't it work for online news websites?

So can this work? Would you give some basic details in order to get access to your favourite news sites? Have you say and join the debate.