Comments on: Can You Tell I’m Excited? ‘Cause I Totally Am

By: ZEITGEIST / Random Comics News Story Round-Up

ZEITGEIST / Random Comics News Story Round-Up — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:35:25 +0000

[...] of the original Wizard of IO essay cracks me up. (thanks, everyone who sent it) * I’m with Gary Tyrrell (I think I’m agreeing with him) that the thought of newspapers going to paid content is such a [...]

By: Maria Walters

Maria Walters — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:19:15 +0000

Will webcomics go all paid? I doubt it. There are way too many models currently in use which are funding financially self-sufficient webcomics. It's not even all about merchandising any more! A number (nowhere near comprehensive!) of examples of financing methods can be seen in this article: http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2009/04/article.php?id=62

By: xerexes

xerexes — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:47:08 +0000

A really interesting article (worth reading) on how newspapers got into the mess they’re in from legendary reporter Walter Pincus:

http://www.cjr.org/essay/newspaper_narcissism_1.php?page=all

By: Andre

Andre — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:30:21 +0000

(I’m sorry, I go off on a huge tangent here…)

I don’t understand the feeling that it’s the internet vs. newspapers– and why many people (especially in the webcomics community) seem to wait gleefully for print media’s demise… I mean– can we just get over it? They’re different beasts. Newspaper comics suck, yeah… but that doesn’t mean they’re going to suck forever, or that they’ve always sucked, or that print isn’t a viable medium (it is). And webcomics suck too, right? I’m just as bored looking at Beetle Bailey as I am looking at QC or Dinosaur Comics…

I think newspapers moving to paid or subscription based services is, unfortunately, a necessary move… How else to pay for their (extremely useful) content? Blogs, after all, mostly comment on press releases and newspaper articles, and they conduct little original research/do only rudimentary investigation. Obviously, if newspapers collapsed, there would be a huge information vacuum… Taking any step to build a new sustainable system (whatever that may be) I think, is a right one.

The system as a whole is just messed up right now. Google News makes a lot of money off newspaper content, for example, and they don’t pay a dime for it. How is THAT sustainable?

It’s just a weird system in general. Is it true that big comics guys like Rowland and Allison make most of their money off of t-shirts? I think you have to expect things to change… I think the internet is still in its infancy, in that sense. Well. I don’t know. Who knows.

By: Bg Porter

Bg Porter — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:52:55 +0000

Simon is right that it could only happen if the industry moved in lockstep and didn’t need to worry about anti-trust issues. If 70%+ of a paper’s content comes from wire services and that stuff is freely available, the horse is already out of the barn.

And then what’s left? George Will (or Maureen Dowd, take your pick) repeating talking points that are debunkable in a minute or two of googlage? Stories written in a strict pattern of setting every issue along partisan lines, no matter how irrelevant that might be?

Sign me up for that. Send me the bill, sure.

By: Shannon Smith

Shannon Smith — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:42:20 +0000

These media gezzers are still debating when/where/how/why to charge for the internet when that battle is already lost. It’s not going to happen. It’s like trying to make people charge their co-workers for gossip at the water cooler. No one cares enough to pay. No one. Never. No one. Nope. Never. Not gonna pay. Not a chance. Ain’t never payin’.