Stefan Niggemeier: Aussichtslos, selbstmörderisch, unverschämt [Hopeless, suicidal, shameless]

Stefan Niggemeier rips the Axel Springer paywall and the explanation offered by the Hamburger Abendblatt' s acting editor. Quick-and-dirty translation of the best bit: "It can't be repeated often enough: The problem of publishing on the Internet is not the supposed prevailing culture of free content . ... The reason advertising revenue is in most cases, (still) insufficient has nothing to do with readers and their "free beer mentality", but rather with the fact that on the Internet, the media have lost their monopoly as an advertising space. ... The main reason the advertising revenue on the Internet is so frustratingly low: The supply of advertising space is much larger. This is called a market."

New York Times: Publisher Lays Out Plan to Save Newspapers

Brilliant stuff. Axel Springer wants a a “one-click marketplace solution” for their online content: "What kind of content would come at a cost? Any 'noncommodity journalism,' [Axel Springer's Cristoph Keese] said, citing pictures of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy cavorting poolside with models at his villa in Sardinia — published this year by the Spanish daily El País — as an example. 'How much would people pay for that? Surely €5,' he said."