Changing Times

“There’s no revenue model for journalism on the web.”

Or at least, so Geraldine Kennedy told Charlie Bird this morning.

Twitterfolk listening in to the show were quick to react.”Old school thinking,” said Adrian Weckler, Sunday Business Post technology editor. “Is perhaps a little too used to economics of an ageing generation.”

Mark Little pointed to an article on USA Today, suggesting someone should tell them “this interwebby news thing will never catch on.” Faced with falling circulation, USA Today is remaking itself to focus on the web.

And Dublin Observer, a hyperlocal website covering the capital, opined that “the web has no room for editors like her and no room for companies like the Irish Times as it currently stands.”

To be fair, the Irish Times website engages with its readers more than some of its competitors. Though not universal, there is a facility to comment on at least some of the articles it carries, and there are blogging journalists.

By contrast, readers are muted on the Independent and Examiner sites.

Websites make money from advertising. So I asked how the Irish Times website could be improved to attract more visitors. Below are some of the answers I received.

By Gerard Cunningham

Gerard Cunningham occupies his time working as a journalist, writer, sub-editor, blogger and podcaster, yet still finds himself underemployed.

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