B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • WPP
  • AFL
  • B&T Women in Media
  • NRL
  • Thinkerbell
  • Pinterest
  • State of Origin
  • imaa
  • Anthony Albanese
  • ARN
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Meta
  • AI
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Paywalls Are Business Suicide: Guardian Australia Boss
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Media > Paywalls Are Business Suicide: Guardian Australia Boss
Media

Paywalls Are Business Suicide: Guardian Australia Boss

Erin M Doyle
Published on: 27th March 2015 at 8:56 AM
Erin M Doyle
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

“I’m not saying paywalls are universally wrong,” said managing director Ian McClelland of the local edition of The Guardian, “But if you’re a general news operation, I think it’s a suicidal business model.”

The potential introduction of a paywall was a topic of discussion during a press briefing to mark the opening of The Guardian’s new Sydney offices.

McClelland discussed the reason why digital paywalls, adopted by competitors, would not be adopted by the Aussie edition of the British news site.

“Allowing readers to contribute and share is fundamental to the growth of The Guardian, but it’s really hard for audiences to contribute and share if we suddenly go behind a paywall,” McClelland said.

According to editor Emily Wilson local audiences comment twice as much as their US and UK counterparts and local audiences want to engage with the journalists, get closer to the news, and have a say.

McClelland added that a paywall would discourage open participation and sharing on social media. He argued readers are more likely to participate if they aren’t denied access to the website in the first place, describing news site paywalls as “the most deflating experience ever”.

Ian Tomlinson’s death at the 2009 G20 summit protest, was used as an example for why paywalls are disruptive to the flow of news. Tomlinson was a passerby during a G-20 protest, he died after being struck by a police officer. The Guardian published exclusive footage which contradicted the original autopsy report, proving that Tomlinson was unlawfully killed by a police officer.

McClelland argued that a paywall would have discouraged the onlooker, an investment banker from New York, from contributing his video. “That video didn’t come from a Guardian subscriber…why would you bother sending a video if the result of that footage was beyond a paywall?”

Yet the glaring question remains: how will the site make its British owners any money? After all, paywalls are increasingly popular and also can be very successful. The New York Times, for example, started charging for online content in March 2011. In 2014, according to CNN, the majority of the publication’s $91.9 million revenue- 52% comes from paywall subscribers

At the moment, The Guardian relies on three main revenue streams: traditional advertising, brand partnership and consumer revenue. They are currently experimenting with masterclasses and live events. Masterclasses are a range of courses, taught by Guardian journalists as well as figureheads of the media industry, across a broad genre of media disciples from creative writing, journalism, photography and design, film and digital media, music and cultural appreciation.

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Advertising Standards Bureau, meerkat, PartnerReach
Share
Erin M Doyle
By Erin M Doyle
Follow:
Erin Doyle is an experienced digital marketing specialist and comms expert.

Latest News

Ogilvy CEO Sally Kissane To Depart
08/07/2025
Everything You Need To Know About B&T’s Agency Scorecards!
08/07/2025
Agency Scorecard: Atomic 212°
08/07/2025
Agency Scorecard: Leo
08/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?