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 Linda Thomas
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The Seattle Times announced "digital subscriptions" are needed to support quality journalism. In mid-March, the news organization will put up a paywall. Subscribers will continue to have unrestricted access online. Other users will have to pay. (Linda Thomas photo)

The state of Seattle journalism, as the Times puts up a paywall

February 24, 2013 @ 4:13 pm (Updated: 12:52 pm - 2/25/13 )

Most people don't want to pay for news online. Many people don't trust the media. And, by the way, everybody is a journalist.

Saying, "You get what you pay for," The Seattle Times is challenging the first assumption, while a local news council is asking journalists to step up their games to win back public trust.

In a column in The Seattle Times Sunday, the news organization announced it will begin charging those who don't subscribe to their newspaper but want to read their stories online.

"Of course, we realize that nobody likes having to pay for something they've been receiving for free," writes David Boardman, executive editor for the Times. "But we believe that if you stop for just a moment to contemplate how important The Times is to the vitality and civility of the Puget Sound region, you might even feel good about your contribution to sustaining the content you value."

Boardman referred to the paywall as "digital subscriptions."

Those subscriptions to the SeattleTimes.com will be available at no extra charge to existing and new print subscribers and will give users access to the newspaper's smartphone and tablet apps.

Readers who don't subscribe will still be able to access the online content on a limited basis, after a few stories you'll have to pay.

How much? A Times spokeswoman later stated there will be an introductory offer of 99-cents per week for four weeks. The regular pricing will be $3.99 per week.

There are hundreds of reader reactions posted in the comments section of Boardman's column.

"I'm starved for objective and untargeted news and I'm not sure where to go. I have had that feeling for a very long time. I'm certain that registering my name, address and credit card for a subscription is not going to help me in my quest," writes one reader from Federal Way.

"You would have to pry money from my cold dead hands to pay for a Seattle Times subscription," says another reader.

"Pay for this crap? Good luck."

The Times is not alone with its skeptical news consumers.

The most recent Edelman Trust Barometer puts the media as a whole third from the bottom among institutions. That's down there with banks and financial institutions.

"That's consistent with Gallup, which found 60 percent of Americans have little or no trust in the media's ability to report the news fully, accurately and fairly," says John Hamer. "That's disturbing."

Hamer, who was a Seattle Times editorial writer many years ago, founded the Washington News Council in 1998.

"A lot of citizens in this region really care about high quality, accurate, ethical, thorough, professional journalism," says Hamer. "I spent 30 plus years as a journalist and thought maybe the profession was getting a little off track."

His media watchdog organization is the only one that still exists in the United States. Has it made a difference?

"Maybe a little," he admits. "You pick your battle and try to move the needle a little bit."

Hamer's latest effort is called the Tao of Journalism. He's encouraging student and professional journalists to abide by its simple concepts of Transparency, Accountability, and Openness.

He believes journalism has been damaged by the "pretense of objectivity."

"So many journalists for so long have pretended that they have no views - the view from nowhere. 'Oh no, no, no, no, no I don't have any opinions on anything. I'm totally neutral. I can be totally objective,' well baloney," he says.

Journalists should still be even handed, but the line between news an opinion has blurred so much that he believes news people need to be more upfront about their opinions so the reader, viewer and listener can better judge the information they're receiving.

On the issue of accountability, Hamer says it's quite simple. Journalists need to admit when they've made factual errors and apologize for them.

"Show a little humility. The words humility and journalist seldom appear in the same sentence, let's face it this is an ego centric profession," Hamer says.

Openness involves giving other points of view opportunity to express their perspectives. It also includes engaging in open, public dialogue through comments. I've always been a supporter of your ability to comment anonymously on this blog, and I do consider your feedback.

Hamer believes these standards should apply to anyone - with or without a journalism degree - who presents news in any form.

"We're all journalists now," he says. "You can start your own website or blog. Facebook could be considered journalism when you're posting stuff to your friends. People trust what they get from their friends maybe more than the traditional media sources."

"That's the big question," he asks. "Who do you trust?"

By LINDA THOMAS

You might also be interested in:

Ross and Burbank: In defense of the Seattle Times charging for online access

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Comments (42)


  • Add A Comment

  • Stevebo wrote...
    I'm not sure I could put it as well as Bill Kortenbach did
    February 25, 2013 10:50 am
    The fact remains that most news agencies have a liberal slant to them (with the exception of Fox News and a right slant to it). The point is, it's excessively difficult to just get plain old news - where journalists give fair play to both sides of an argument anymore.

    Case in point: The morning news at KIRO. I like listening to it on the way to work. And, while I like Dave Ross, it's clear to me that he's been a commentator so long now that I'm not sure he's capable of providing news any longer without his particular slant to it. Linda does a much better job in my opinion of trying to not offer... well, opinion into the presentation.

    I agree with you AJ that news organizations have historically used their power to "sway" the public (which I would agree is a huge ethics issue)- but news is something different now than it used to be. News agencies now seem to think they have to offer commentary to nearly everything.

    It's because of that "agenda" that I have a really hard time taking most news sources with credibility.

    The Seattle Times has perhaps one of the biggest credibility issues of all. They have made no secret of pushing of certain agendas from time to time.

    I'd have a really hard time "paying" through a "paywall" for The Seattle Times as long as they continue to adhere to that obvious agenda.

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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Stevebo's comment reflect the fact that news has become a "product"
    February 25, 2013 11:22 am
    and is very obviously presented for a target audience.

    Want to market your product or service to a primarily white, post middle age, fundamentalist audience with a high regard for "traditional" values? Fox News would be the place to find that group, all enjoying news custom tailored to their fantasies of how the real world should operate.

    Trying to sell to a younger group, more ethnically diverse, morally adventurous, and slightly more likely to have a college education? MSNBC delivers, for the same reasons that Fox corners the conservative audience.

    So why doesn't anybody just do "news" anymore? As much as we all like to wail that we want objective journalism, we're not going to tune into it, or read it, in big numbers. No audience = no ads. We will, instead, complain that the "mainstream media" fails to be objective, while left, right, and center we enthusiastically consume the biased reporting most likely to reinforce our existing preconceptions, prejudices, and stereotypes.

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  • Seattle Dad wrote...
    Noble attempt
    February 25, 2013 11:42 am
    So they want us to pay for access to the print and promise they will step up their game? We won't know they're stepping up their game until we pay to find out? Let's see the Seattle times become a skeptical observer of the state and local government instead off admonishing the citizens for not going along with every proposed tax increase. On the opinion page, have a discussion of two different perspectives.
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  • Gar57 wrote...
    This we know.....
    February 25, 2013 12:14 pm
    The same people who whine and cry about the liberal bias of the media (including Fairview Fanny)also believe they are getting "balanced" news from Fox or 770TheTruth. What they are really getting is a news slant they want to hear, which makes them feel all warm and fuzzy. Whatever floats your boat, folks.
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  • Stevebo wrote...
    RE: Chuck
    February 25, 2013 12:45 pm
    Perhaps we (the consumers) are to blame (at least in part) for what news has become in today's day and age.

    I agree that news agencies chase the dollar... and it's very appealing to go for "what the customers are asking for" so to speak... which perhaps speaks more poorly of what society reflects in today's age moreso than the news media that we all criticize.

    Still though, I also know that there are quite a few people (myself included) that would truly enjoy non biased news reporting where that source gave credence to both sides of any given story.

    Your point is well taken Chuck, though I would disagree with your possible analogy that MSNBC attacts the "college educated" crowd. That strikes me a bit disrespectful in assuming that "Fox" people (and perhaps conservatives?) are perhaps less educated? I'm not sure I would call that a fair analogy.

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  • Stevebo wrote...
    In fairness... i re-read what you wrote Chuck...
    February 25, 2013 12:47 pm
    And perhaps you're not as guilty as painting the picture as vividly as I might have lead on... to that end, I wanted to acknowledge.
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Stevebo....the "slightly more likely to have a college education" comment
    February 25, 2013 2:10 pm
    is based, very loosely, on the electoral map. On a national basis, the west coast and the northeast tend to run blue with reasonable consistency. Average educational achievement in those states typically runs *slightly* higher than in the deep south and the midwest farm country- where things are typically pretty red, most of the time.

    Important to note: Slightly better educated doesn't equal slightly more intelligent. Educated equals spent more years in school

    On a state basis, it's no secret that there are really two Washingtons. Both about equally populous. One Washington consists of King County, where the greatest number of jobs requiring advanced degrees are located in this state. King County, along with Whatcom and Thurston (Western Washington counties with public universities) and predictably Island County are nearly always blue in every election. Places like Adams, Asotin, Ferry, and other counties are populated by a lot of very wonderful and hard working people that anybody would be proud to know- but many of the rural counties don't support enormous numbers of professional folks with college degrees.

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  • Stevebo wrote...
    Fair enough point to make Chuck.
    February 25, 2013 2:34 pm
    And you're right about the "red" vs. "blue" states vs. demographics.

    Perhaps my response was a little more of a "knee jerk" response to other comments that I continually hear about those being conservative being equated with being "stupid" (I hear that a lot from liberal commentators... such as Bill Mahr... and it drives me NUTS...)And in all honesty, your comments didn't reflect that in the slightest really.

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  • John Hamer wrote...
    The Washington News Council Can Help
    February 25, 2013 5:39 pm
    Lots of strong opinions here about The Seattle Times! (Full Disclosure: I worked there for 13 years as an editorial writer/columnist, but have also constructively criticized them over the years as a media critic for CounterPoint newsletter and in Watchdogs column in Seattle Weekly.) I would urge all commenters here and other readers of Linda's excellent column to learn more about the Washington News Council, which we formed partly because The Seattle Times eliminated its Ombudsman position and our co-founders believed it was a good idea to have an independent outside organization to review complaints against media organizations and render a public assessment of their performance and ethics. That's precisely what we've been doing for 15 years now. You can learn all about our history and accomplishments on our website, http://wanewscouncil.org. To see the WNC in action, watch the hearing (TVW videotaped) on the Leschi School vs. KIRO7 complaint. But we're now the only news council left in the U.S., and we need help to keep our doors open. Donations are tax-deductible; we're a 501c3. Want to help? Click the "Donate" button on our website. If you believe in media accountability, help us out. Call me with any questions: 206.262.9793.
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  • OldMan wrote...
    Times Paywall Article
    February 25, 2013 9:05 pm
    As someone who has been in the printing industry since 1962 I've seen a lot of changes in my day, from hot lead type to digital printing. One by one newspapers across the land are falling by the wayside because they didn't diversify by having other sources of income besides advertising money to keep them afloat with their print editions. Whether you like the Seattle Times or not, I feel they are on a slippery slope leading to chapter 11. Time will tell.
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