Boston Herald devaluing its 'marquee' columnists?

Bostonherald.com recently made “Herald columns free,” reversing its select paid content strategy instituted three years ago:

The Herald made the move in March 2003 to charge online readers for access to its stable of marquee columnists, unless those readers subscribed to the print edition. Access to columnists ranged from $4.95 for one month to $25.95 for a year.

The Herald’s rationale for now freeing its columnists reflects the current, generally accepted philosophy that open access to content attracts a larger audience and, hopefully, results in a net revenue gain through increased page views and ad sales. The Herald publisher family Purcell statements about the waiving of Herald columnist fees, however, do not suggest immediate revenue gains:

We’re seeing so much traffic now to the Web site, and there is so much more opportunity to further develop our site and our Web traffic, that we are going to make the columnists available as part of a normal visit, without surcharge…the benefits of allowing our readers full access to all of our content outweighs any revenue impact.

While it is also generally accepted that columnists and other writers desire the greatest audience possible, perhaps those with ‘marquee’ status, and compensation, prefer a paid access model for the select cachet it confers.

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