If you value local journalism and its benefit to our community, I have some good news to share. Beginning this week, roughly 75% of the content on Cincinnati.com, the online home of The Enquirer, will be free.
How can we afford to do that, you might wonder? Well, I’ll get to that. But first, a little background.
When newspapers began publishing content online more than two decades ago, the vast majority – The Enquirer included – did not charge readers for the experience. We didn’t need to. Back then, print advertising had not yet been disrupted by the digital revolution, and before the arrival of smartphones and high-speed internet connections (remember waiting for a dial-up modem to connect?), print still was regarded as an efficient platform on which to deliver news.
My, how things have changed.
Today, the lion’s share of our audience connects with us digitally, and we report news in real-time via our apps, the mobile web and social media platforms. And since free is a lousy business model, paywalls are now common in our industry.
On Cincinnati.com, we had what is known as a metered paywall. A visitor could read five stories in a 30-day period before hitting the paywall. To read more, you were asked to subscribe or wait for the next 30-day window to begin.
Paywalls played a big role in our transition to a digital news organization. Our base of digital-only subscribers has grown significantly, now equal to the number of people who subscribe to print on weekdays.
As we got better at understanding the needs of our audience and the type of content that motivates people to subscribe, our strategy evolved. Recently, we set aside our most exclusive journalism and made it available only to subscribers.
And as of this week, the “free” stories will be just that. Free to all and unlimited.
No paywall. No meter.
This change accomplishes two things.
First, important news and information that keeps us informed, safe and connected won’t be locked behind a paywall. I should note here that this tactic is not entirely new. Since the start of the pandemic, much of our coverage related to COVID-19 has been free as a public service. Eliminating the paywall ensures more people in our community can access information that’s vital to their safety and well-being.
Second, this change allows us to put more emphasis on our premium content: in-depth and insightful local journalism that entertains, informs and is only available to Enquirer subscribers.
Take our sports coverage for example. Anyone can tell you who won the game. But if you want expert analysis – such as Charlie Goldsmith’s behind-the-scenes report on how the Bengals turned things around in the second half of the AFC Championship – that content is reserved for our valued subscribers. Ditto for Paul Daugherty’s must-read musings and provocative sports columns.
Is a new restaurant opening up in your neighborhood? That’s news everyone can benefit from. But for an exclusive look at how delivery apps are both a blessing and a curse for local restaurants, Enquirer subscribers can count on the expertise of our food and dining writer, Keith Pandolfi.
Our subscriber-only content goes behind the headlines to add context to the stories that affect you the most.
Just in the past week:
We explained why a sting operation to deter people from having sex in the open at Mount Airy Forest became the first test new Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval’s relationship with the police department.
We reported on why there might be signs of hope for downtown Cincinnati’s struggling commercial real estate market.
And we introduced you to a local student who happens to be the nation’s top rebounder in high school girls basketball.
The key point to understand is this: Our most vital work – stories that hold elected leaders accountable, seek solutions to community problems and bring clarity to complex issues – is now supported by our subscribers. That’s a major step in preserving local journalism in our community.
At the end of 2021, The Enquirer tapped a dozen of its journalists to report on the alarming increase in the number of juveniles charged with murder last year in Hamilton County. But we didn’t stop with the data.
We told the stories of people dealing with this crisis daily – probation officers, juvenile court judges, youth agency workers, family members of victims and even the young men who have come to accept gun violence as a part of their lives. What we learned from them can point our community toward solutions.
Our subscribers make this important work possible. If you are among our readers who have made this investment to support local journalism, I thank you.
If you haven’t subscribed, please take this opportunity to give us a try. You can find our current subscriber offers here.
But what you won’t find on Cincinnati.com is a metered paywall.
We’ve taken a big step in our journey to become a subscriber-supported digital news organization. Thank you for joining us.
Beryl Love is executive editor of The Enquirer. Email your comments and questions to [email protected].
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