To me this is a natural culmination of larger traditional media outlets who are still on the whole managed and run by people who simply don't understand what the internet is, or how it works, nor how people engage with and use theis ifnormation. I'm increasingly surrounded by people who have little or no background in media or internet publishing (they call themselves professional managers) who are telling us how things will work in the future without so much as a weeks worth of shop-floor experience (I've worked for a large UK media owner for 11+ years).
Look at Murdoch's utter inability to understand what the web represents and his reactionary walled garden approach to media delivery and consumption. What you've got are senior managers all desperately trying to create mechanisms to restrict access to their content because they believe that scarcity will somehow shore-up revenues. What they've failed to understand is that the fundamental rules of engagement have changed. It's time they stood aside/down and let those people with the understanding and foresight to get on with building their company's future.
if publisher's want to build a future for themselves then listen up. Open up your content to developers, engage with your audience & readership, partner with well selected commercial entities to extend your markets, limit the amount of advertising you provide but make that advertising relevant and engaging for you and your audience (because otherwise everyone will start using Adblock), offer unique content, know where your content is being consumed and what revenues you're generating on the back of it and crucially understand that as a publisher you are no-longer able to call the shots as you once did on how people access your content. Technological innovation is something they should be embracing in all it's scary, unfettered raw glory, not something to hide away from and build walls to defend against.
