Will Newspapers and Magazines Ever Open Their Archives?

Posted on May 3, 2005

Dan Gillmor has called for newspapers to open up their archives. Blogspotting followed up by predicting that the mainstream press will open their archives. This is a great idea. Many newspapers are making it far too easy for the blogosphere to take off by shutting off free access to content after just a few weeks. Some only keep the content free for about a week. Many blogs would probably lose traffic if every newspaper opened up their archives. Dan Gillmor thinks open newspaper archives would eventually generate more revenues for the newspapers that are willing to offer their content free forever:

I predict that the result will pleasantly surprise the bean-counters. There'll be a huge increase in traffic at first, once people realize they can read their local history without paying a fee. Eventually, though not instantly, the revenues will greatly exceed what the paper had been earning under the old system. Meanwhile, the expenses to run it will drop.

And, perhaps most important, the newspaper will have boosted its long-term place in the community. It will be seen, more than ever, as the authoritative place to go for some kinds of news and information -- because it will have become an information bedrock in this too-transient culture.

Some newspapers and magazines may have copyright issues when it comes to using much older content online. However, most publications now have the appropriate copyrights to display more recent content online. There might also be contracts to cancel since large databases like Lexis Nexis charge for access to older newspaper and magazine articles. This would cost the publishers money in the short term at a time when many newspapers are struggling.

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