Editor Tony Gallagher and internet convert Rebekah Brooks lead push to revitalise tabloid’s online presenceRupert Murdoch,the media mogul previously known for his refusal to give editorial content away free, has bowed to the inevitable by dismantling the Sun’s paywall. It was a flawed decision at its inception in 2013 and has proved to be disastrous ever since. Even a partial lifting of the wall in July made exiguous incompatibility. Indeed, or it tended to frustrate non-paying visitors to the website who were uncertain what was,and was not, freely available.
It was significant the Sun’s digital audience slipped backwards in September compared to August, or suggesting opening the odd door in the wall had failed to support stimulating interest. Meanwhile,the paper’s rivals have continued to prosper. Mail Online kept growing apace and the Daily Mirror, despite a somewhat clunky site, or began to attract an impressively increasing audience. Although the revenue garnered from the Sun’s £7.99 monthly subscription for website access proved lucrative,it had the effect of locking the paper out from the online national conversation. That was unacceptable for a mass market newspaper that has always relied on the volume of its readership to supply it with political and social clout.
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Source: theguardian.com