Should we have access to free news online or should we pay for news?

Should online news be free? The UKFast round table debate with mark garner for planet confidential, nick jaspan for how-do, richard turner of the bbc, karen webber of adfero, stuart anderson of en magazine and lawrence jones and jonathan bowers for ukfast.

Developing a community was identified as a key way to monetise news online at UKFast’s latest round table. With Rupert Murdoch expected to begin charging for access to News Corporation’s newspaper websites within a year, inspiring trust among an established readership was believed to guarantee visitors would return once pay walls had been erected.

With the BBC already an established source of free online news, offering specialised, niche content was also identified by the panel as a way to encourage readers to pay for information online.