Rupert Murdoch and New York Times have something in common... if only the SCMP did, too

It appears newspapers are racing to make their online content free -- at least the two most influential newspapers in the United States are.

The New York Times announced this week that many of its popular columnists, such as Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich, would be freed from the Times Select pay portion of the site. It appears top brass at the Old Grey Lady have decided that selling advertising is much more lucrative, despite the fact that over 200,000 people had signed up to pay the $49.95 yearly subscription fee.

"But our projections for growth on that paid subscriber base were low, compared to the growth of online advertising," said Vivian L. Schiller, senior vice president and general manager of the site, NYTimes.com.

There have been ways to get around the New York Times paywall, but this is a good move to ensure that NYT content is read by as wide an audience as possible.

Now, on the heels of the NYT decision, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has declared his intention to free the Wall Street Journal as well:

He reiterated his proposal to make the Wall Street Journal's Web site free, rejecting criticism that it would hurt the newspaper. Analysts have said a free wsj.com could be a risky move as the site is a rare Internet property that has managed to attract paying customers.

Murdoch said making the site, which currently charges a annual subscription fee of $99, freely available online would help boost viewership and revenue globally.

"Will you lose $50 million to $100 million in revenue? I don't think so," Murdoch said. "If the site is good, you'll get much more."

As a media consumer and avid follower of news from China, it would be great to see content from the Wall Street Journal made available for free online. The WSJ has an excellent network of China-based correspondents and despite the fact Murdoch will soon own the property, I expect the WSJ to continue in that proud tradition.

But while these two announcements by US newspapers are to be applauded, unfortunately the South China Morning Post has decided to take a different turn. This article (h/t to Shanghaiist) explains that management at the paper has decided against making the online content free of charge.

South China Morning Post's online publisher Chris Axberg is departing his role, after failing to agree with SCMP management on the business model of its online platform.

Axberg, who recently spearheaded SCMP's relaunch of its online platform, confirmed his departure was effective from 28 September, bringing an end to an eight-year tenure with the company.

Sources indicated executive director, SCMP Group, Kuok Hui Kong was the front-runner to take the reins. Axberg said although he had advocated the SCMP's online site becoming free for users with advertisers driving revenue, management had opted to retain a subscription-based model.

"It was really the case that this was as far as I could take them strategically having to work in those parameters, so now I'm looking forward to new opportunities in digital media."

It's unfortunate that the SCMP has decided to continue keeping their material behind a paywall. When I'm in Hong Kong, I usually pick it up for $7 HKD at the nearest 7-11. But because it's much more difficult to find in mainland China (and many other countries), potential readers are left behind. When offered the choice of signing up for paid content with a credit card, or simply reading the legions of other sources online, the decision becomes fairly easy.

Subscription and advertising rates in most newspapers are declining while time spent online is on the increase. It's clear that newspapers will have to adapt to this changing reality, and we now have evidence that the Wall Street Journal and New York Times recognize this. I guess it will take a little while longer before the SCMP figures it out, too.