Can newspapers survive by begging?

The Miami Herald takes the hunt for online revenue onto new ground by asking readers for donations 

This holiday season, many people will get into the spirit of giving by donating to charities. But generous South Floridians have another option -- The Miami Herald. The region's paper of record has been hit hard by cutbacks, layoffs, and revenue declines facing most of the newspaper industry, and it has started posting a link at the bottom of each story, saying, "If you value The Miami Herald's local news reporting and investigations, but prefer the convenience of the Internet, please consider a voluntary payment for the web news that matters to you." Can asking readers for spare change help save newspapers?

Don't laugh -- donations might help: "The Miami Herald is taking a page out of Wikipedia's playbook," says Danny Shea in The Huffington Post. The online, user-updated encyclopedia is run by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, and every year it gets a financial shot in the arm from an "appeal for readers to donate for the free service." Last year's campaign raised $3 million over 10 days.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us