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one in a different direction. Where ther papers are less gung-ho bout pushing web subscriptions, e Globe is strongly emphasizing s new website’s innovative echnology, device-friendly atures, and ability to fit individual eeds. The corporation is trying FN EAe TwU sR
A Newspaper for the
Future J
By Anna Burgess
ournalism is dead. This is a phrase uttered by many in recent years--one that news corporations around the country have been valiantly trying to prove wrong. A phrase that calls to mind the struggle of journalism professors, courses, and schools learning to adapt to a new age of information technology. And now, a phrase that The Boston Globe is battling in a new way: with aZ subscription-only website. Billed as “a newspaper for the future,” BostonGlobe.com was launched on September 12,2011, along with an editorial assuring readers of its commitment to journalism and a page of frequently asked questions to help readers understand the site. Typing in the URL BostonGlobe.com leads readers to a homepage that looks like the front page of a print newspaper. The headlines are there, as well as photos and descriptions of the paper’s content. But clicking on a link to an article featured on the “front page” leads to a new page featuring only the article title, an opening sentence, and a friendly box telling readers to “continue enjoying BostonGlobe.com, please sign up or log in.” This website is truly for subscribers only. BostonGlobe.com is now one of two online branches of The Boston Globe. The other is Boston.com, which has been around for years, has five million visitors monthly, according to Nielsen ratings, and does not require a subscription. Ac-
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TUFTS OBSERVER
NOVEMBER 7, 2011
cording to the Globe’s statement, “Boston.com...will continue to offer full daily sports coverage, breaking news updates, online features, and lifestyle information, as well as five stories selected from each day’s print edition...[it] will also include summaries and headlines of stories on BostonGlobe. com, but you must be a subscriber to read those stories in full.” BostonGlobe.com, on the other hand, has a subscription fee of $3.99 a week and offers full access to an online version of the print newspaper. It also includes online-only features, such as a tagging system to save articles for later, video adapted to the size and quality of viewing devices, support for touchscreen devices, and crossword puzzles that save progress and check for errors. The website may not sound monumental or groundbreaking, but it does represent a new approach to a battle many news corporations have been fighting for years. With the rise of informational blogs and interest-specific websites, declining revenue and readership for newspapers has been the norm. Many of these print newspapers have developed online equivalents, which are necessary in the Internet age. But the problem with many of these equivalents is that they are just that—there is nothing new about them. For instance, the site for the San Francisco Chronicle is a series of links, with almost no images, let alone exciting interactive technology. The New York Times online offers non-subscribers access to the whole paper, as does the LA Times. Like other