I was reading today about the problems new graduates are facing in the current job market. Apparently on average, there are 70 applicants for every job vacancy.
It sounds tough but I'm not convinced the situation is any worse than in previous years. This year's graduates have been told that if they want a job they will need to:
'consider flipping burgers or stacking shelves when they leave university'
The report I was reading in the Guardian said that leading firms in investment banking, law and IT are due to cut graduate jobs this year.
This makes the assumption that every person who graduates from university is automatically looking to get on a graduate recruitment scheme. I didn't, and I know many of my contemporaries didn't either.
A lot of people don't even know what they want to do with themselves in their early 20s and might not be looking for an immediate long term career.
For other graduates there's too much of this naive expectation that they're somehow entitled to some amazing job at the age of 22-23 just because they've got a degree. It's time to get real!
Some of it isn't all their fault though. Schools, the government and the media are constantly telling people that having a degree is some guaranteed ticket to a wonderful job and lifelong security.
I left university in the summer of 1998. After deciding I couldn't spend an entire month watching the World Cup that summer, I started looking for jobs. I found the whole experience annoying and frustrating!
It was a struggle just to get a basic admin office job, as recruitment agencies constantly told me; you can't do this or that unless you have a year's office experience, can use MS Office and can touch type at a speed of 50 words per minute.
I eventually ended up getting a job in a call centre and in fact spent the next year working in various call centres, something which I really didn't want to do.
After getting sick of call centres I tried finding office jobs, but guess what, agencies were telling me I should stick with call centre work because that's what my experience was in. Ridiculous!
Stories like the one I read today, make out that graduates struggling to find jobs is some new phenomenon, it isn't. Graduates have been leaving university and doing non graduate level jobs for years, and many of them haven't been complaining.
I look back my degree and see it mainly as a box that's been ticked, as soon as I left university I quickly realised that the job market is all about skills and experience. The more skills and experience you have the better.
The Guardian report quoted Carl Gilleard the chief executive of The Association of Graduate Recruiters saying it was better to have some employment then no employment at all. He went on to say:
'There are lots of other skills required and valued, like people skills: you could be on a counter in a store. It's all about building up your skills base.'
I'm pretty sceptical about such comments. It's fine if you want to do that type of job for a short period of time like 6 months, but if you continue for much longer, you run the risk of being typecast as employers start believing that's all you can do.
My advice for students currently at university is to start looking at ways of developing practical skills applicable to the world of work during the holidays and term breaks.
Learn some office skills for example, learn how to type, this is something which I learnt to do after a I graduated. Having always worked in offices it's one of the best things I've ever learnt.
Going to university has become little more than a middle-class right of passage for many young people. A transitional period between teenage life and entering the adult world.
Once you leave university and enter the job market it doesn't matter what qualifications you have, you can never assume that you are entitled to any job you want.
You have make yourself as well rounded a possible in terms of the skills and experiences you can offer a potential employer. Not only that you need to constantly keep looking at ways of learning and developing yourself in terms of skills.
Many graduates also need to have some patience and except that the benefits of a degree may take between 10 - 15 years before it really begins to kick in. This might be hard to except for some but that's just how it is.
Finally, we all need to start being a bit more honest with each other over the needs of the job market and the benefits of having a degree. Some young people have been lied to by schools and the government and I feel sorry for them.
It annoys me sometimes to read such articles as I think a lot of time they're out of touch with what's really going on.
I'm glad I'm out of it all to be honest. There are many aspects of the job market that I find frustrating, but I'd hate to be a new graduate now trying to find a job.
Views, comments and analysis from me over the week's news headlines, and anything else that's caught my interest.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
6 Music Saved!
I was pleased to hear yesterday that the BBC Trust has announced that it has rejected proposals by the BBC to close down the digital radio station 6 music.
I wrote about my feelings on the planned closure earlier in the year in a blog entitled BBC wrong to axe 6 music!
It's ironic really, in that by announcing plans to close the station the BBC actually raised the profile of the station to levels that it previously could only have dreamed of. I read that the station's audience share actually rose by 50% following the proposals.
BBC Trust said the station was a "highly distinctive" service. I agree.
It's also another victory for the power of social media with people using sites like Twitter and Facebook to galvanise support and highlight the quality of the shows and presenters on the station.
I wrote about my feelings on the planned closure earlier in the year in a blog entitled BBC wrong to axe 6 music!
It's ironic really, in that by announcing plans to close the station the BBC actually raised the profile of the station to levels that it previously could only have dreamed of. I read that the station's audience share actually rose by 50% following the proposals.
BBC Trust said the station was a "highly distinctive" service. I agree.
It's also another victory for the power of social media with people using sites like Twitter and Facebook to galvanise support and highlight the quality of the shows and presenters on the station.
Monday, 5 July 2010
World Cup Telly
One of the things I've enjoyed most about watching this World Cup has been the BBC's coverage which has included a number of interesting reports on South Africa.
They've reported all over the country, meeting different people and looking at how the World Cup is impacting on their lives and the country overall.
As well as these reports the BBC has shown some great social history documentaries about South Africa. The last one I watched looked at the Boer War which told the story of the Spion Kop, a term that most English football fans will be familiar with.
Two of my favourite films included one about Sir Stanley Matthews visiting South Africa during the 1960's and 70's to coach in the black townships.
I've always known who Stanley Matthews was, but I knew nothing about him coaching in South Africa. After watching the film I had a huge amount of respect for him as it took a lot of courage to visit the country during the years of Apartheid rule and coach in the townships.
Some of those people who he coached all those years ago were interviewed and still spoke with a great deal of fondness and affection for him and the efforts he made.
The second film I really enjoyed looked at an area in Cape Town known as District Six. Up until the late 1960's this was a mainly coloured area of the city.
In 1968 all of the non-white population were forcibly evicted from their homes and forced out of the city into some wasteland area known as the Cape flatlands. The district was re-developed as a designated 'whites only' area.
It was a poignant and emotional film that highlighted the cruelty and absurdity of the apartheid system.
When I watch such things, it reminds me that I actually grew up with apartheid still very much alive. It's hard to get your head around the idea that such a system could ever have existed. It's like something out of a nightmarish Science Fiction movie.
What I liked most about these short films is that you realise that although the World Cup is clearly a sporting event, the very fact it's being held in South Africa makes this a very different World Cup.
Up until 20 years ago South Africa was pariah state, shunned by the sporting world. For the country to be holding the World Cup at this moment still feels amazing.
The BBC films have given the tournament as sense of context and you appreciate the significance of the World Cup in South Africa when you realise what a troubled and unsavoury recent history the country has had.
There's been criticisms of course which shouldn't be ignored. But this has come about only because the issue of sport and politics are so closely linked in South Africa.
I think following the showing of the District Six documentary, they went back to the BBC studio with pundits Gary Lineker, Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer.
Hansen when talking about Apartheid went on to say:
"That system was obviously fundamentally flawed...but now they've got the World Cup,"
Well that's alright then!
He was rightly criticised for this but I quite like Hansen, so I'm not going to be too harsh on him on this one.
It was one of those awkward moments when a sports pundit suddenly realises they've stepped outside of their comfort zone and into dangerous political territory.
Rather then go any further and makes things worse, they quickly try and wrap things up, and inevitably make things worse.
Despite this little blip I'm not going to let it overshadow what I think has been excellent coverage by the BBC.
They've reported all over the country, meeting different people and looking at how the World Cup is impacting on their lives and the country overall.
As well as these reports the BBC has shown some great social history documentaries about South Africa. The last one I watched looked at the Boer War which told the story of the Spion Kop, a term that most English football fans will be familiar with.
Two of my favourite films included one about Sir Stanley Matthews visiting South Africa during the 1960's and 70's to coach in the black townships.
I've always known who Stanley Matthews was, but I knew nothing about him coaching in South Africa. After watching the film I had a huge amount of respect for him as it took a lot of courage to visit the country during the years of Apartheid rule and coach in the townships.
Some of those people who he coached all those years ago were interviewed and still spoke with a great deal of fondness and affection for him and the efforts he made.
The second film I really enjoyed looked at an area in Cape Town known as District Six. Up until the late 1960's this was a mainly coloured area of the city.
In 1968 all of the non-white population were forcibly evicted from their homes and forced out of the city into some wasteland area known as the Cape flatlands. The district was re-developed as a designated 'whites only' area.
It was a poignant and emotional film that highlighted the cruelty and absurdity of the apartheid system.
When I watch such things, it reminds me that I actually grew up with apartheid still very much alive. It's hard to get your head around the idea that such a system could ever have existed. It's like something out of a nightmarish Science Fiction movie.
What I liked most about these short films is that you realise that although the World Cup is clearly a sporting event, the very fact it's being held in South Africa makes this a very different World Cup.
Up until 20 years ago South Africa was pariah state, shunned by the sporting world. For the country to be holding the World Cup at this moment still feels amazing.
The BBC films have given the tournament as sense of context and you appreciate the significance of the World Cup in South Africa when you realise what a troubled and unsavoury recent history the country has had.
There's been criticisms of course which shouldn't be ignored. But this has come about only because the issue of sport and politics are so closely linked in South Africa.
I think following the showing of the District Six documentary, they went back to the BBC studio with pundits Gary Lineker, Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer.
Hansen when talking about Apartheid went on to say:
"That system was obviously fundamentally flawed...but now they've got the World Cup,"
Well that's alright then!
He was rightly criticised for this but I quite like Hansen, so I'm not going to be too harsh on him on this one.
It was one of those awkward moments when a sports pundit suddenly realises they've stepped outside of their comfort zone and into dangerous political territory.
Rather then go any further and makes things worse, they quickly try and wrap things up, and inevitably make things worse.
Despite this little blip I'm not going to let it overshadow what I think has been excellent coverage by the BBC.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
World Cup thoughts - Day 22 & 23
Day 22
What a day. What emotion!
The first of this World Cup's Quarter finals.
Brazil 1 Holland 2
Ghana 1 Uruguay 1
Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties.
I'll start with the first game of the day - Holland v Brazil.
How disappointing were Brazil?
At half time this game was heading towards a routine win for Brazil. You couldn't see how Holland could get back into the game.
Clearly the turning point came with Holland's first goal mid way through the second half. Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar was at fault, coming off his line and failing to punch the cross that came into the box. Instead, midfielder Philipe Melo got in his way and headed into his own goal. It was one mistake which Brazil never recovered from.
After going 2-1 down Brazil's Melo got himself sent off for stamping on Arjen Robben, a completely stupid thing to do.
Brazil didn't exactly 'lose their heads' but they certainly lost their discipline and composure after Holland equalised. It was strange to watch as this team were the tournament favourites.
When faced with a slight setback and some increased pressure from the Dutch they couldn't handle it and suffered an emotional collapse! It was bizarre.
So why did they lose it?
I have my own theory - For many of the so called bigger nations some of the first and second round games aren't challenging enough, they're not tested sufficiently.
Once they reach the Quarter finals they face teams that should on paper offer a proper test. It's at this stage that serious questions are asked about a team's credentials. Last week, England's weaknesses were embarrassingly exposed against Germany and we saw today that Brazil simply weren't the team we all assumed they were.
Up until this afternoon Brazil had been fine when they'd been in front, when things were going their way, but faced with a bit of pressure and suddenly they couldn't deal with it.
Dunga the manager is unlikely to survive this result. His team were hardly loved by the Brazilian public, but they at least won games. They can't even say that now.
In saying all of this, lets give credit to Holland, they hung in there and took their chances in the second half. They deserved to go through.
Ghana 1 Uruguay 1
Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties.
Talk about emotional, this is already a World Cup classic which will be remembered for years to come.
Sport never ceases to amaze with the range of emotions it can generate. This game had it all.
Before the game my heart said Ghana would win 1-0 but my head said Uruguay would score at least once. I haven't been overly convinced about Ghana's goal scoring threat, but I have to say I was surprised at just how well Ghana played overall.
After the game finished 1-1 at 90 minutes, the first period of extra time looked as if Uruguay were going to go on and win it. Second period it was all Ghana, but nothing could prepare you for what was about to unfold.
last minute of extra time, Ghana have a header handballed off the line, Suarez gets sent off and Asamoah Gyan steps up to take the penalty to send Ghana through to the semi finals!
But no, he hits the crossbar - unbelievable!
The penalties
Fair play to Gyan for stepping up and scoring the first penalty, that took a huge amount of guts which has to be admired, but you just felt the momentum was now with Uruguay.
The missed penalties by John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah were some of the worst penalties I've ever seen in a shoot out. With Mensah's you knew as soon as he took a one step run up there would be no happy ending.
After two misses by Ghana and one miss from Uruguay, it was left to Sebastian Abreu to send Uruguay through.
People are already arguing that Ghana were cheated out of victory by luis Saurez's handball. Was it instinctive or was it deliberate?
If Gyan has scored the penalty we wouldn't be having this debate. The officials got it right by sending Saurez off and awarding the penalty but the fact that Ghana missed the penalty makes you feel that justice wasn't really done.
All I can think of is that the rules could be changed were a 'penalty goal' could be awarded in such situations where clearly a goal would have been scored had it not been for the handball.
It's a tough one, but it's the nature of sport and life in general. You don't always get what you deserve, and things aren't always fair.
Ghana have been excellent in this tournament and deserve a lot of credit, they've represented African football well, unlike teams like Nigeria and Cameroon who have underachieved yet again.
The script was meant to be all about Africa's first World Cup and an African team going further than ever before, but life doesn't always follow the desired script.
Some credit should be given to Uruguay as well. This was a massive game for them, their biggest in 40 years, a country who most people know little about, with only 3 million people but who have a proud footballing tradition. They've played some good football as well and a Semi final place isn't undeserved.
Day 23
Two more Quarter final clashes in another fascinating day at the World Cup.
Germany 4 Argentina 0
This must be the result of the tournament - who realistically thought this would be the final score?
The dream of Maradona leading Argentina to World Cup glory smashed to bits here as Argentina were taught a footballing lesson.
Germany have to be the team of the tournament so far, and must be favourites for the World Cup. With Germany teams of the past you've always been able to admire their discipline, efficiency and know how in progressing through tournaments, but this Germany team is also highly entertaining.
As for Argentina - total humiliation. This was another example of a fancied team facing their first real test and failing spectacularly.
To win a World Cup it usually helps if you have a midfield that consists of something more than just one defensive holding player!
They had Mascherano as the holding midfielder and on the flanks there was Angel Di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez, but after that nothing. They needed someone in the middle, in front of Mascherano to act as a creator.
This was cruelly exposed today which made my pre tournament prediction of Argentina winning the World Cup look like a laughable joke!
Germany's manager Joachim Low correctly identified that there was no creative outlet for Argentina between their defence and attack, it meant for all the talent of Messi, Tevez and Higuain, they barely troubled the German keeper!
Secondly none of their great attacking players really contribute defensively which allowed the Germans more time and space when they had possession.
Watching this game I couldn't help but admire and respect Germany's overall footballing culture. The amazing consistency in major tournaments and the ability to organise and reinvent themselves over years and generations.
If only England could learn something from how they do things.
Spain 1 Paraguay 0
It's hard to believe that tonight's result sent Spain into a World Cup Semi final for the first time in their history.
Spain haven't totally convinced so far, stumbling through matches and not quite playing the beautiful passing game so many people were expecting.
I imagined this game would be one of Paraguay defending in numbers, making life difficult for Spain who would monopolise possession but struggle to break Paraguay down.
This is exactly what happened until the game sprung to life in the second half with 3 penalties in 3 minutes.
Paraguay had a penalty and missed it, a minute later Spain had a penalty which Xabi Alonso scored which he was made to take again, as the referee said there was player encroachment into the box.
Alonso steps up for a second time, but the keeper saves the spot-kick. From the rebound Fabregas comes running in to try and score but is upended by the keeper! Ridiculously no penalty was given by the ref!
Thankfully for Spain David Villa came to rescue to score their winner in the last ten minutes. Where would they be without Villa? He's the only player scoring goals.
At the moment Torres just isn't performing, and looks a shadow of the player we've seen in the Premiership. He's clearly not fit and I don't think there's enough games left for him to get fit and find his true form.
How much longer is the manager Del Bosque going to persist with Torres? Spain seemed to play better earlier this week beating Portugal after Torres was replaced by the Athletic Bilbao forward Llorente.
Spain's victory sets up a great looking Semi final against Germany. This is a tough one to call. Spain haven't been great so far but you feel they have the players and talent to beat Germany.
Germany have proved already that they don't need the so called 'star players' as they function so well as a team. I'd make them slight favourites now, mainly because they're Germany.
Despite Spain's talents, this is still uncharted territory for them. How will they cope with the pressure and expectation. There's this nagging voice in my head that says they'll bottle it!
I hope not. We shall see.
What a day. What emotion!
The first of this World Cup's Quarter finals.
Brazil 1 Holland 2
Ghana 1 Uruguay 1
Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties.
I'll start with the first game of the day - Holland v Brazil.
How disappointing were Brazil?
At half time this game was heading towards a routine win for Brazil. You couldn't see how Holland could get back into the game.
Clearly the turning point came with Holland's first goal mid way through the second half. Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar was at fault, coming off his line and failing to punch the cross that came into the box. Instead, midfielder Philipe Melo got in his way and headed into his own goal. It was one mistake which Brazil never recovered from.
After going 2-1 down Brazil's Melo got himself sent off for stamping on Arjen Robben, a completely stupid thing to do.
Brazil didn't exactly 'lose their heads' but they certainly lost their discipline and composure after Holland equalised. It was strange to watch as this team were the tournament favourites.
When faced with a slight setback and some increased pressure from the Dutch they couldn't handle it and suffered an emotional collapse! It was bizarre.
So why did they lose it?
I have my own theory - For many of the so called bigger nations some of the first and second round games aren't challenging enough, they're not tested sufficiently.
Once they reach the Quarter finals they face teams that should on paper offer a proper test. It's at this stage that serious questions are asked about a team's credentials. Last week, England's weaknesses were embarrassingly exposed against Germany and we saw today that Brazil simply weren't the team we all assumed they were.
Up until this afternoon Brazil had been fine when they'd been in front, when things were going their way, but faced with a bit of pressure and suddenly they couldn't deal with it.
Dunga the manager is unlikely to survive this result. His team were hardly loved by the Brazilian public, but they at least won games. They can't even say that now.
In saying all of this, lets give credit to Holland, they hung in there and took their chances in the second half. They deserved to go through.
Ghana 1 Uruguay 1
Uruguay win 4-2 on penalties.
Talk about emotional, this is already a World Cup classic which will be remembered for years to come.
Sport never ceases to amaze with the range of emotions it can generate. This game had it all.
Before the game my heart said Ghana would win 1-0 but my head said Uruguay would score at least once. I haven't been overly convinced about Ghana's goal scoring threat, but I have to say I was surprised at just how well Ghana played overall.
After the game finished 1-1 at 90 minutes, the first period of extra time looked as if Uruguay were going to go on and win it. Second period it was all Ghana, but nothing could prepare you for what was about to unfold.
last minute of extra time, Ghana have a header handballed off the line, Suarez gets sent off and Asamoah Gyan steps up to take the penalty to send Ghana through to the semi finals!
But no, he hits the crossbar - unbelievable!
The penalties
Fair play to Gyan for stepping up and scoring the first penalty, that took a huge amount of guts which has to be admired, but you just felt the momentum was now with Uruguay.
The missed penalties by John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah were some of the worst penalties I've ever seen in a shoot out. With Mensah's you knew as soon as he took a one step run up there would be no happy ending.
After two misses by Ghana and one miss from Uruguay, it was left to Sebastian Abreu to send Uruguay through.
People are already arguing that Ghana were cheated out of victory by luis Saurez's handball. Was it instinctive or was it deliberate?
If Gyan has scored the penalty we wouldn't be having this debate. The officials got it right by sending Saurez off and awarding the penalty but the fact that Ghana missed the penalty makes you feel that justice wasn't really done.
All I can think of is that the rules could be changed were a 'penalty goal' could be awarded in such situations where clearly a goal would have been scored had it not been for the handball.
It's a tough one, but it's the nature of sport and life in general. You don't always get what you deserve, and things aren't always fair.
Ghana have been excellent in this tournament and deserve a lot of credit, they've represented African football well, unlike teams like Nigeria and Cameroon who have underachieved yet again.
The script was meant to be all about Africa's first World Cup and an African team going further than ever before, but life doesn't always follow the desired script.
Some credit should be given to Uruguay as well. This was a massive game for them, their biggest in 40 years, a country who most people know little about, with only 3 million people but who have a proud footballing tradition. They've played some good football as well and a Semi final place isn't undeserved.
Day 23
Two more Quarter final clashes in another fascinating day at the World Cup.
Germany 4 Argentina 0
This must be the result of the tournament - who realistically thought this would be the final score?
The dream of Maradona leading Argentina to World Cup glory smashed to bits here as Argentina were taught a footballing lesson.
Germany have to be the team of the tournament so far, and must be favourites for the World Cup. With Germany teams of the past you've always been able to admire their discipline, efficiency and know how in progressing through tournaments, but this Germany team is also highly entertaining.
As for Argentina - total humiliation. This was another example of a fancied team facing their first real test and failing spectacularly.
To win a World Cup it usually helps if you have a midfield that consists of something more than just one defensive holding player!
They had Mascherano as the holding midfielder and on the flanks there was Angel Di Maria and Maxi Rodriguez, but after that nothing. They needed someone in the middle, in front of Mascherano to act as a creator.
This was cruelly exposed today which made my pre tournament prediction of Argentina winning the World Cup look like a laughable joke!
Germany's manager Joachim Low correctly identified that there was no creative outlet for Argentina between their defence and attack, it meant for all the talent of Messi, Tevez and Higuain, they barely troubled the German keeper!
Secondly none of their great attacking players really contribute defensively which allowed the Germans more time and space when they had possession.
Watching this game I couldn't help but admire and respect Germany's overall footballing culture. The amazing consistency in major tournaments and the ability to organise and reinvent themselves over years and generations.
If only England could learn something from how they do things.
Spain 1 Paraguay 0
It's hard to believe that tonight's result sent Spain into a World Cup Semi final for the first time in their history.
Spain haven't totally convinced so far, stumbling through matches and not quite playing the beautiful passing game so many people were expecting.
I imagined this game would be one of Paraguay defending in numbers, making life difficult for Spain who would monopolise possession but struggle to break Paraguay down.
This is exactly what happened until the game sprung to life in the second half with 3 penalties in 3 minutes.
Paraguay had a penalty and missed it, a minute later Spain had a penalty which Xabi Alonso scored which he was made to take again, as the referee said there was player encroachment into the box.
Alonso steps up for a second time, but the keeper saves the spot-kick. From the rebound Fabregas comes running in to try and score but is upended by the keeper! Ridiculously no penalty was given by the ref!
Thankfully for Spain David Villa came to rescue to score their winner in the last ten minutes. Where would they be without Villa? He's the only player scoring goals.
At the moment Torres just isn't performing, and looks a shadow of the player we've seen in the Premiership. He's clearly not fit and I don't think there's enough games left for him to get fit and find his true form.
How much longer is the manager Del Bosque going to persist with Torres? Spain seemed to play better earlier this week beating Portugal after Torres was replaced by the Athletic Bilbao forward Llorente.
Spain's victory sets up a great looking Semi final against Germany. This is a tough one to call. Spain haven't been great so far but you feel they have the players and talent to beat Germany.
Germany have proved already that they don't need the so called 'star players' as they function so well as a team. I'd make them slight favourites now, mainly because they're Germany.
Despite Spain's talents, this is still uncharted territory for them. How will they cope with the pressure and expectation. There's this nagging voice in my head that says they'll bottle it!
I hope not. We shall see.
Friday, 2 July 2010
The Times goes behind the paywall
For those of you interested in reading the Times and Sunday Times on the internet, from tomorrow you're going to have to pay for the privilege. You can pay £1 for a day's access or £2 for a week.
It sounds like the £2 for a week is the better option.
So why has Rupert Murdoch decided to put the Times and Sunday Times behind a paywall?
Traditional print media is struggling, newspapers both local and national are losing readers, sales and revenues are decreasing, journalists are being made redundant. Overall the old print media business model is collapsing.
The internet has revolutionised how we consume the media and news stories, there's a whole generation of people who have no experience of buying newspapers and access information from the internet or smartphones. They don't pay for consuming news.
The great paywall debate is all about how media groups like News International can make a profit in this new media landscape. Why should publishers give away their news content for free on the web? How do actually pay for quality journalism and news production if you have falling profits?
The whole media industry has been waiting for this moment since Rupert Murdoch first announced his plans last year. The entire media industry will be paying close attention to see whether this experiment will really work.
I suppose because I'm a part trained journalist this is a subject of great interest to me. I appreciate that producing good quality journalism requires a significant amount of time and resources.
Good journalism does not come cheap, you need to invest in it. From this point of view I can understand why paywalls are being considered. It probably explains why I've been happy to continue buying newspapers.
I'm buying a product and I accept that if I want something of a certain quality or standard then I need to pay for it.
Will the paywall work?
Although I think quality news content needs to be paid for, I along with many people have my doubts on how successful this paywall experiment will be.
You have to ask yourself why would you pay to subscribe to the Times website? What is it offering that I can't get elsewhere?
When it comes to getting news from the web, I normally go to the Guardian or the BBC, occasionally I would read the Times, but there's no reason for me pay for the Times when I already read the Guardian and the BBC online.
If paywalls are to work then newspapers need to offer some form of niche or unique content; something that's specialised that people feel is worth paying for, that you can't find anywhere else.
An example is the Wall Street Journal, which readers already pay for and is clearly a niche publication specialising in financial news.
A national paper like the Times is too general, offering news stories on topics you can find for free elsewhere on the web. In fact newspapers have never focused on specialist interest subjects.
This is why I think the paywall won't work, but we'll have to see how things develop over the next few months.
It sounds like the £2 for a week is the better option.
So why has Rupert Murdoch decided to put the Times and Sunday Times behind a paywall?
Traditional print media is struggling, newspapers both local and national are losing readers, sales and revenues are decreasing, journalists are being made redundant. Overall the old print media business model is collapsing.
The internet has revolutionised how we consume the media and news stories, there's a whole generation of people who have no experience of buying newspapers and access information from the internet or smartphones. They don't pay for consuming news.
The great paywall debate is all about how media groups like News International can make a profit in this new media landscape. Why should publishers give away their news content for free on the web? How do actually pay for quality journalism and news production if you have falling profits?
The whole media industry has been waiting for this moment since Rupert Murdoch first announced his plans last year. The entire media industry will be paying close attention to see whether this experiment will really work.
I suppose because I'm a part trained journalist this is a subject of great interest to me. I appreciate that producing good quality journalism requires a significant amount of time and resources.
Good journalism does not come cheap, you need to invest in it. From this point of view I can understand why paywalls are being considered. It probably explains why I've been happy to continue buying newspapers.
I'm buying a product and I accept that if I want something of a certain quality or standard then I need to pay for it.
Will the paywall work?
Although I think quality news content needs to be paid for, I along with many people have my doubts on how successful this paywall experiment will be.
You have to ask yourself why would you pay to subscribe to the Times website? What is it offering that I can't get elsewhere?
When it comes to getting news from the web, I normally go to the Guardian or the BBC, occasionally I would read the Times, but there's no reason for me pay for the Times when I already read the Guardian and the BBC online.
If paywalls are to work then newspapers need to offer some form of niche or unique content; something that's specialised that people feel is worth paying for, that you can't find anywhere else.
An example is the Wall Street Journal, which readers already pay for and is clearly a niche publication specialising in financial news.
A national paper like the Times is too general, offering news stories on topics you can find for free elsewhere on the web. In fact newspapers have never focused on specialist interest subjects.
This is why I think the paywall won't work, but we'll have to see how things develop over the next few months.
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