Dave’s Take

With the continual death spiral of newspapers ever increasing, the debate over paid versus free content continues to rage. Basically, the entire debate is a catch 22—if the demand for newspapers keeps falling, how do you entice readers to pay more for less? I firmly believe the “pay to read” micro movement is destined to fail and fail badly.

First of all, how many local papers can compete with the Internet? Sure the good ones have kept at least a skeleton crew to cover local crime, sports and politics, but when you really drill down, how can a local paper that has to wait to be printed compete with bloggers, columnists and YouTube for the immediatecy that news depends upon? The short answer—they can’t. There is no way a local rag can generate enough unique content to justify a paid fee for readership.

Don’t get wrong, I love newspapers. I love the smell, feel and look of newsprint—I love the way they fold for easy access to box scores and crossword puzzles–always have and always will. On a daily average, I probably read between three to six local papers online. Due to my propensity for moving every two to three years, I have developed a daily addiction to reading about and keeping up with my previous cities of residence. I scroll through the Salt Lake Tribune, Las Vegas Review Journal, Las Vegas Sun, Anchorage Daily News and San Jose Mercury News just about every morning while I recaffeinate myself. Yet as much as I love these papers, if they forced me to subscribe for online access, I would have to bid them all aloha.

Like the vast majority of web surfers, I try to not divulge any more personal information than is completely necessary. And signing up to subscribe to read news is not compelling enough to fork over credit and personal info to the great Internet database. I used to be a big fan of Salon.com and even bought a platinum membership for a year—until they made me give them credit information. I didn’t renew once I couldn’t just send them a check. I must not have been alone, as Salon now seems to provide the majority of their content for free.

The only paid content news sites that may continue to work to some degree is in the area of custom publishing. Sites like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times seem to keep enough fish on line to continue limited subscription services. I think the majority of their online subscribers aren’t paying because they think the info is so unique as much as they are die-hard capitalists who think everything should cost someone something.

And it’s not only news-based content that cannot support paid online plans. Just look at online video as one example. Google, the company that will own the world one day, tried a paid video service and got their hat handed to them by the likes of YouTube. People love to watch wacky videos online, but only if its free. It’s only logical—who is really going to pay hard earned money to watch a cat play the piano? (Outside of the crazy cat lady every town seems to have.) User generated video is only as popular as it is free. The toothpaste has left the tube. The world is used to watching video for free on the Internet and that’s not going to change in my lifetime.

Finally, the reason I know paid content is dead on arrival is because of the proliferation of ad-supported sites. This is the base model the Internet has developed and the overwhelming majority of surfers agree with its fairness. I don’t mind seeing a few ads appear with the content I seek—as long as it’s passive and not annoying. There are literally thousands of companies willing to spend billions on banner ads, pop-ups and search related sponsorships. This acceptance is why paid content will never be able to level the playing field in hopes of surviving as a workable revenue stream.

As one online pundit recently wrote, “Paid content is like putting a tollbooth on the freeway.” I couldn’t agree more. Maybe if say ten or fifteen years ago, the Internet powers that were decided to go with a subscription-based income model it may have worked. But now it’s about as feasible as a screen door on a submarine.

NBC’s latest prime time entry, The Jay Leno Show premiered this week to higher than expected ratings of over 18 million viewers. The new show, which looks just like the old show (minus the desk), drew an audience of fans, curiosity seekers and told ya soers. The fans tuned in because they like the old shoe feel of the show—no real controversy, blue language or racy sketches. The curiosity seekers watched to see if Leno had the daring to break the mold of his persona and take a chance (which he didn’t). The told ya soers watched just long enough to be able to tell their friends and co-workers how right they were with the predictability of the new offering being a weak sister. Overall, not a real satisfying experience for any one.

As someone who can take or leave Jay Leno, I was more in the told ya soers boat. I was not surprised at the milquetoast look and feel of the new show. I had read enough about it to know that the chance of any new breakthroughs or pacing changes was pretty much nil. What did surprise me was how truly bad the writing and skit selection was. I thought that if nothing else, the four-month hiatus the writing staff and host took off would lead to some real solid (if not predictable) jokes. I was wrong. It was almost unwatchable. From the weak monologue to the absolutely horrendous car wash song bit, the jokes were few and far between. This lack of humor is however, just one of the reasons I hope his show tanks.

If the new Jay Leno Show is successful it will spell the end of adult dramas on network television. Because it can be produced for about one-tenth of the expense of a one-hour drama, shows like Jay’s will proliferate on all four networks. This will all but doom dramas, as they are usually aired in the last hour of prime time. Besides all the writers, directors, producers, grips, make-up artists and production assistants being put out of work by reality and variety shows, the success of jay Leno will help complete the slide into comprehensive script free programming. Do we really need or want more of this schlock? I think not.

Jay Leno is a talented guy who from all reports is also nice and deserving. Before his network sellout he was a great stand-up comedian, performing comedy in clubs over 300 times a year. I hate to actively root against his prosperity, but he has left me no choice. In the war of Survivor versus West Wing, I’m on the side of the guys who know how to act, not just react.

As a patriotic American consumer, I feel it’s my duty to visit my local shopping malls often. While I, (like most people) have cut way back on my retail spending, I still enjoy the unique window-shopping and people watching my neighborhood shopping center provides. It is this observational addiction that has made me a middle-aged mall rat with no apologies.

Lately however, I have noticed an alarming trend in the retail sector — the kiosks are dying. Like a canary in a coalmine, the death rate of mall kiosks provides a window into just how bad our economy has become. Sure, some of the big chains have abandoned their once brightly lit storefronts, but for the most part the small vendors have hung in there. Now, it seems the retail meltdown has reached into each and every corner of the American mall.

I first noticed the kiosk death rattle when I realized that some of the bigger kiosk renters were calling it quits. I’m not talking cheap sunglasses or tennis shoe cleaner vendors, but companies like Dish Network and Alltell Communications throwing in the towel. They have obviously deducted the sad fact that malls no longer provide the prized foot traffic with disposable income they once did. Instead, they are closing their retail kiosks in favor of more (and cheaper) conventional methods of reaching new customers.

After noticing how many of the big guys were bailing on kiosk locations, I began to concentrate on the number of small vendors who are abandoning their American dream and folding. The number of empty mall kiosk carts is alarming. Visit your favorite shopping center and pay attention to how many empty carts are littering their hallways – it’s shocking. And why is this trend sounding a national alarm? Because mall kiosks represent the lowest common retail shopping denominator.

Who really needs any of the items sold at these retail rickshaws? Nobody. Mall kiosks are like mints and tabloids at the grocery store checkout stand. Something people buy based upon sheer impulse, with no thought as to necessity or value. When people stop impulse buying, it’s time to think about turning out the lights.

What can we do to reverse this frightening trend? First of all, our elected officials need to admit how bad things are. We already know we’re in much deeper guano than any politician will confirm. And until they speak the truth to their constituents, the problems with retail sales will only continue to rise. After recognizing the seriousness of the situation, we need the government to step up and begin to help the retail sector. SBA loans, rent subsidies, tax breaks and made-in-America first programs are just some of the ideas that may help in the long run. While debating the merits of these various solutions may not lead to a magic bullet, ignoring the reality of the situation is not the way to reinvigorate the retail sector.

Realistically, the death of mall kiosks is not anywhere near as serious as the war, unemployment, health care costs or the collapse of the real estate market. But it is yet another sign of how we are being misled about the collapse of our consumer-based economy. Our political leaders must be reminded that America is a resilient country, but one that depends upon open, honest debate to flourish.

So, the next time you visit your local mall, help the little guy — buy something, anything from a kiosk. The canary you save may be your own.