“Mr. Murdoch, tear down this wall”

Almost 22 years ago, on June 12, 1987, Reagan gave a speech to a crowd gathered at the Berlin Wall in West Germany. His words are now part of history: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Reagan, and many in the free world, knew that the wall stood as a failed attempt by the communist leadership to repress the inevitable.

Recently, I was reminded of the symbolism in President Reagan’s words when I saw media mogul, Rupert Murdoch’s comments that he needed to build paywalls around the content of the New York Times and WSJ. Murdoch stated, “People are getting used to getting everything on the net for nothing. That’s going to have to change somehow.”

Pardon me, Mr. Murdoch may be a powerful man, but I think the cat is out of the bag on this one. Yes people do expect much of their content to be free online, and, on the social web, they also expect it to be linkable to others.

The future does not look promising for newspapers, magazines and other forms of media that are looking at paid subscriptions or content to help fund their Internet business model. In this era of the social web, digital content that is shareable takes on tremendous added value. Information hiding behind a paywall, or even a registration wall, is difficult to share. It is wonderful that Murdoch believes the power of the WSJ and NYT brands will transcend the paywall obstacle, but he would be better served figuring out how to transform that old world brand equity into a radically altered news landscape.

Today, hot topics are discussed and distributed at lightening speed throughout the country and the world. A major news outlet may be the original source of a story, but literally within minutes there are often multiple sources of that information. People share hyperlinks to this information with their friends and followers. That sharing helps create a dynamic content to the news. How do you share a hyperlink to a story hidden behind a paywall? You don’t. Consequently, on the social web people link to sources that are free.

Like any wall, paywalls are not impassable. People find ways around, over and under them. In the case of the social web, they find a source that is linkable. There are far too many sources of news on the Web – commercial and private – to make exclusivity behind a subscription model viable on a large scale. Murdoch’s paywall idea is to protect what is inside his empire from the “anarchy” happening outside the walls. However, I think that is like expecting castle ramparts to defend against a modern-day army. Tomorrow’s billionaires probably understand it is time to join the revolution rather than steel against it.

People will still pay for content on the Web that they feel is exclusive, timely and strategically valuable, but that content must pass a high test in today’s economic environment. Forrester Research is a good example. Their content is digital and companies such as ours will pay sizable amounts to access that information because it is timely, relevant and strategically valuable to Sundog and our clients. In addition, a great deal of research and analysis is often involved in compiling their reports. However, companies like Forrester also provide large quantities of free information via their company blogs, news releases, and free reports. In addition, the personal blogs and Twitter posts from many of their analysts are filled with valuable information that make their paid content more credible, interesting and desirable.

The advice to Mr. Murdoch is a restatement of the same advice President Reagan gave to Mikhail Gorbachev 22 years ago: “Mr. Murdoch, tear down this wall.” The world is changing and the viable businesses in the future will be those that change with it.