Benny is excited that football season is on the way.
I’m going to take some time to get away from things before starting up my ninth season covering the Oregon State football team.
Training camp opens Aug. 6, and information will be coming fast and furious starting the first week of August. The full practice schedule can be found here.
My blog will be quiet until then, but follow me at Twitter.com/cliffgt for friend my on Facebook. I’m sure I’ll be popping off there.
Now, for the big announcement.
The GT website, including the blog, will be going to a deal where the first 15 reads of any story is free each month. Then you will have to pay for it.
This comes from the top. Read more about it here. I’m sure many of you will not like this, but the newspaper is trying trying to find revenue somehow.
38 comments
ean says:
Jul 17, 2012
Cliff,
You need to take like a 2 week vacation so we can get a bunch of commits.
Rick says:
Jul 17, 2012
I’m sorry that your employer has elected to go toward a pay-for model for their content. I wonder how many readers will be lost because of this decision. But, that’s the nature of newspapers not being willing and able to adapt to an online model.
AndyPanda says:
Jul 17, 2012
Too bad your blog is headed for oblivion. And that the GT doesn’t realize that a quantity of quality content will attract and retain a readership that will be worthwhile for advertisers to also reach, whereas it being inaccessable will ensure that there’s no reason for advertisers to support you.
bbb says:
Jul 17, 2012
HAHAHAHAHA! no one is payin jack ____ to read stuff here. Very funny GT. Very funny.
Cliff,
sharpen up that resume. See if eggers wants a side kick or something.
Bob says:
Jul 17, 2012
Cliff, I’ll continue to read your blog each month until I hit 15 hits on the GT site, then I’ll be done. I think this decision is a damn shame and can only imagine how many readers will just stop reading after 15 hits. My guess? 95%. If I want to pay for my sports news, (and I don’t) I’ll sign up for Rivals.com etc. I generally don’t plug Angry because he doesn’t need it, but his blog is free, and always very interesting reading.
Very poor decision by management.
angry says:
Jul 17, 2012
“What do you think?”
I think asking people to pay for sports information is a bad business model. Cliff, I am looking for a “Deep Throat” type source for my site…if you get canned and are feeling the resentment come on over!
pfbeaver says:
Jul 17, 2012
Yep. All that I read from GT is this blog. I don’t feel that it’s worth $60 per year, since the other news doesn’t matter to me. I’m not local to Corvallis. I run a website with over a million visits a month. I really do not understand professional writers, and their dedication to their paper. You write really good content here. I wonder if it would be worth while to split off on your own, and gen your own site. Anyways, good luck with your plan to reduce your readership.
ChrisOSAlum says:
Jul 17, 2012
I’ve very much enjoyed your blog, Cliff. I am sorry that the execs at the GT have made such a wrongheaded decision. Unfortunately, I won’t be paying for the Gt on line… In fact, I’ll probably just switch to the Oregonian in protest. Hasta La Vista.
Jim says:
Jul 17, 2012
I too will miss getting your insights on Beaver Sports. If your publisher fails to understand the dynamics of online info , then I am afraid it is the end of the GT. Who will want to pay to advertise when the number of ‘hit’s declines 60% in a quarter.
The problem lies, Mr Editor, in your inability to sell ads. Let me guess, the first place you looked to cut costs was to gut the ad sales staff? What a bonehead you must be.
Orange says:
Jul 17, 2012
ESPN has a good PAC-12 blog. Ted Miller does a nice job. http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12
ChrisOSAlum says:
Jul 17, 2012
Yeah, but he always links to Cliff’s blog.
bbb says:
Jul 17, 2012
who will pay money to read “run the ball. stop the run. stop the pass. pass the ball.” as keys to victory each week? Cliff is going to have to get down and dirty to garner a readership that will pay. the “riley is the end all be all”, “p12 money fixes everything”, “we can’t expect much because we are osu” stuff just aint gonna cut it.
Beavs Believe says:
Jul 17, 2012
Yet, you’re here. On his blog. Flaming him…
bbb says:
Jul 18, 2012
well,
its free err or was free. lmao.
BeaveBeliever says:
Jul 18, 2012
Shut it
bbb says:
Jul 17, 2012
just read the link about pay to read. so basically you’re most loyal readers are being punished. lmao. oh well. now i only will check the crime watch section once a month. lol.
aaron_ says:
Jul 17, 2012
Cliff, this is poo. I have been a loyal reader and poster on your blog for years but i dont know about paying. The is no bueno.
Jackson says:
Jul 17, 2012
On December 26, 1919 the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. In 2012 the Gazette Fricken Times decided to charge money to read something on the internet.
Listen GT, the advantage you have over the hundreds of free internet sources is your ACCESS to local news and your relationships with local news makers. Improving content should be your first priority (i.e. ask coaches/players tough questions, conduct IN-DEPTH interviews, etc.). The internet will always be better at presenting game statistics and game summaries.
SoOrAaron says:
Jul 17, 2012
Yes, I’ll agree with the rest. This is a really bad idea.
The worst part is this can’t be undone. Once you loose a following, it takes years to rebuild.
Mark says:
Jul 17, 2012
It costs money to produce a paper and its contents. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to me to charge something for professional insight and commentary. If I find myself going over 15 hits/30days, I will probably add e-access to my print subscription. Traditional newspapers generally are having a rough time paying the bills, and I, for one, would hate to lose Corvallis’ only daily.
73GradMike says:
Jul 17, 2012
… and here I thought that websites made money from advertisers trying to reach their mutual audiences! Oh well … who needs ad revenue when they can count on blog readers to read more than 15 articles per month (ahh-ahh-ahh-bulb-ships).
maffu72 says:
Jul 20, 2012
As a business owner & potential web advertising customer, I just have to laugh. Internet advertising is a joke. It’s worthless. How often do you click on a sponsor ad? I know I’ve done that less than ten times… since I joined the internet in the early 90s!!!
These papers dug their own graves by giving away their content for FREE. Now that they’ve realized FREE don’t pay the bills, they’re starting to charge for it… but the customer who is used to getting immediate, accurate, detailed news & insight FOR FREE… doesn’t want to pay for it.
It never should have been free to begin with. If it’s worth something, it’s worth paying for. Instead they created an unsustainable expectation.
That said, I doubt I’ll subscribe… I’ve got more important things than Beaver sports on my mind and in my life.
Cheers!
Matt
BeaverDon says:
Jul 17, 2012
Cliff,
I hope you will understand that the fact that many readers will take 15 access opportunities and then not check in until the following month. This will be no reflection on you or your fellow bloggers for the GT or the Democrat Herald. Thanks for all you have done over the years, it’s been fun
SLAB says:
Jul 18, 2012
Advertising dollars are going to have to take a huge hit. Would you pay the same price for your online ad under these circumstances? Nope! I don’t comment often but represent the hundreds like me who read without commenting and won’t be paying. I can’t believe that the GT will make up the lost revenue from advertisers through online subscriptions.
Thanks Cliff, you have always done an outstanding job. You can count on my 15 stories being spent on your writing.
rejectmediocrity says:
Jul 18, 2012
No one is a big enough fool to pay money to the Gazette Times to read about Oregon State’s deteriorating football program.
beaverpride says:
Jul 18, 2012
Really? I don’t see how this pencils out for the GT… but I’ll trust that someone ran the numbers prior to making such a drastic decision. I won’t be paying a dime… just reducing the amount of visits to your blog. Cliff, you do a great job and I feel bad for you. I’m sure this isn’t what you wanted and it certainly won’t increase the amount of followers. Too bad for us too.
Tagup says:
Jul 18, 2012
This decision is really gonna put a kink in OS Beaver’s advertising budget……tough break!
Beaver93/04 says:
Jul 18, 2012
Bummer. I’ll read to 15, stop reading, and probably not come back. That’s no reflection on you, Cliff, as I’ve really enjoyed the blog. I’ve been disgusted with the GT for years, so I’d never pay for their content. Maybe it’s time for you to spin off into your own blogging endeavors and give up on that sad GT.
pddrad says:
Jul 19, 2012
you think that this is just saying one thing we all hate to admit that the register gaurd is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo far ahead of cg. that they shit on us like poo.action speak this is just one more thing that leads us to have to get better as a team that we don’t even have a paper that we can trust to give us something to talk about . we lost are hope in are team know we lost are paper. fight back beavers you are the ones that got to do it as a team the rg. has great followers because they have a team we are just proven that we don’t belong with the big boys. i am sorry to put it that way butt we all know that is what this is all coming to.. we have got to fight back as a team. win the big ones. not win the day. as them sucks.(ducks) say. we have got to win the big ones.lets get bowling guys
calbeav says:
Jul 19, 2012
Deleting my bookmark- thanks but no thanks.
pddrad says:
Jul 20, 2012
what a joke this is got to be a joke i have never heard of this in my life. this has got to be a joke save this for april fools
OS_Beaver says:
Jul 22, 2012
OSU’s need to Expand its Fanbase:
http://beaverbyte.com
dili says:
Jul 22, 2012
Dili says “hi all have you missed me”. HHAAAHHHAAA. If Riley and his gang of assistant imbecils had a decent program maybe people would pay to see comments beyond the sweet 15; however, he has brought the program into the abyss and lost so much fan support and enthusiasm it is no wonder the coments 32 above are 100% against this foolish move on the part of the GT. The paper has fallen into Rileys pattern of humiliation. GT your owner should be ashamed, and your editor should quit to work for a bunch of desparate people like you. Tell the truth, are you this desparate because you are the verge of bankruptcy? Yes or No?
Tagup says:
Jul 23, 2012
Anything else Riley and staff are causing?… higher gas prices? drought in mid america ? Was it Riley that told Romney not to release his tax returns?
and the answer to your first question …. “No”.
OS_Beaver says:
Jul 24, 2012
Riley was more specific this year and I appreciate that. I am not rooting against him. I simply am rooting for wins and I need to see more fight and passion to take advantage of every down. I am glad Riley said the defense will be much better. We shall see.
Oregon State at Pac-12 Media Day:
http://beaverbyte.com
Tagup says:
Jul 25, 2012
Great!…buy a season ticket….
Pos0x45 says:
Jul 27, 2012
Beavers win 8 this year
OS_Beaver says:
Jul 28, 2012
Reser – OS or Angrybeaver for Logo?
http://beaverbyte.com