View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
March 7, 2019

Cornwall local news website introduces pay-as-you-go offer alongside subscriptions to give readers ‘more control’

By Charlotte Tobitt

An independent local news website in Cornwall has introduced a pay-as-you-go paywall alongside its existing subscription package to give readers “more control over what they choose to read”.

Cornwall Reports was launched by editor Graham Smith two years ago as a paid-for rival to Reach’s Cornwall Live, where he worked until he was sacked for failing to “share the aims and values” of the company’s new online product as he developed his own paid-for website idea.

Smith started with a subscription model charging readers £30 per year (with no free articles for non-subscribers) but decided last month to add a pay-as-you-go scheme, pioneered by virtual wallet Agate, to make its stories accessible to more readers.

He said: “We specialise in serious, high-quality journalism, and that kind of journalism has value.  It is not unreasonable to ask readers to pay for it.

“The new pay-as-you go feature might appeal to readers who want to read only certain parts of the site, such as our coverage of Cornwall Council, or of the NHS. But for readers who want more than four or five articles per week, it will still be better value to take out a regular subscription.”

 

Content from our partners
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it
Impress: Regulation, arbitration and complaints resolution

Cornwall Reports, which remains ad free, now asks anyone attempting to read one of its articles to either choose a subscription package or pay 20p per article up to a maximum of five articles, or £1, per week, after which content stays free until the following week.

Once a user has signed into Agate and topped up their wallet with a minimum of £3, they can continue to read without entering their details each time.

Other websites signed up to Agate include The New European and Complete France, both published by Archant, gossip news website Popbitch, political analysis publisher Reaction, and cricket magazine The Cricketer.

The Hackney Gazette, also owned by Archant, put up a micro-paywall last year by asking ad-blocking readers to whitelist its website or pay up to 99p for a day’s ad-free online access.

Smith said: “Just over two years ago Cornwall Reports became the first local news website in Britain to insist that journalism has value and to put the future of what we do firmly in the hands of our readers.

“With no annoying adverts, pop-ups or data acquisition on our news pages, we have continued to serve a steady diet of hard-hitting exclusives and investigations.

“However, while our annual subscriptions have held steady at £30, working out at less than 9p per day, we know that some people do not like paying regular subscriptions or would prefer to pick and choose the content they read from a variety of outlets.”

In a statement, Agate chief executive Dominic Young said: “We’re thrilled that Cornwall Reports has signed up with Agate to offer customers more flexibility with an option to pay per article.

“Agate was created because we believe that being able to produce quality journalism in return for a fair price, and being able to pay effortlessly, is the template for commercially successful local news.

“Cornwall Reports are, not for the first time, pioneers and are leading the way for other local publishers to follow.”

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network