Convention focus: charging for online content
The buzz in newspaper circles these days is whether to charge for online content and how to charge. To assist our members with these critical decisions, the ONA Convention will focus on the topic with back-to-back sessions on Thursday, Feb. 11, at the Hilton Columbus at Easton.
The opening general session will be a panel discussion on the topic led by Drew Davis, president of the American Press Institute in Reston, VA. Davis will have an overview of pricing models from around the country, thanks to a database being maintained by API in partnership with ITZBelden.
Adding an Ohio perspective will be Jim Shine, publisher of The Lima News, a Freedom Communications newspaper, that implemented an online pricing program earlier this year. Joe Gallo, vice president & chief information officer for The Columbus Dispatch, is the third panelist and will detail the model being rolled out by his company.
Immediately following the general session is a breakout session titled “Succeeding in the New Digital World.” Kate Butler, vice president of newspaper markets for Associated Press, will address the rapidly increasing problem of original news items being used across the Web without appropriate permission or compensation. She’ll detail how AP is creating a framework to help newspaper members protect their content while tracking and monitoring its usage.
Butler, who joined AP in 2004, manages AP’s regional vice presidents and domestic bureau chiefs and business development with 1,500 U.S. newspaper companies and their online operations.
Butler’s session will run concurrently with a Weekly Newspaper Roundtable led by Jeff Donahue of This Week Newspapers, who chairs ONA’s Weekly Newspaper Committee. The roundtable is designed for weekly newspaper personnel from all areas of the operation to share issues and ideas on such topics as Web applications, news coverage, ad sales and circulation.
The ONA Convention begins with a welcome reception on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and concludes Thursday, Feb. 11, at 5 p.m. Complete details, including Hilton room reservations, are available at convention.ohionews.org. Take advantage of this year’s reduced prices, make your plans to attend, and register now!
Thank you, sponsors!
We gratefully acknowledge these sponsors who have already committed for the 2010 ONA Convention:
- The Blade, Toledo, Welcome Reception
- AdMall, Gold Level
- Associated Press, Bronze Level
The ONA Convention is an excellent, economical way to network with our members while showcasing newspaper products and services. Sponsor inquiries should be directed to Frank Deaner (fdeaner@ohionews.org) or Sue Bazzoli (sbazzoli@ohionews.org).
