Interestingly enough, I just read about this same model for prostitution in Sweden. It is not illegal to sell sex, but it is very illegal to buy (or facilitate) it. The pimps are cut out because the women can safely go to the police, and the potential johns have to be much more careful about breaking the law since the full force of the law falls on them. http://www.vancourier.com/Feminist+lawyer+outlines+Swedish+prostitution+success/4398890/story.html
Sure there are flaws (like johns who "silence" their victims) but the experience in Sweden shows that these are no worse than the system they replace.
This is also the opposite of "joint and several" liability here in the US. This deserves some more discussion, Mike!
I love the concept of free news, but it's not a sustainable business. There just aren't enough banner ads to support that kind of a model. Newspapers need ads that actually perform, or some kind of subscription revenue for continuous usage.
The only two models I've seen that make sense are the "Basic Cable" ESPN 360 model, or the "ads or cash" Ultramercial model.
By racing to be the freest we just won't have newspapers anymore - not as Web pages, brands or even APIs. Only NPR.
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This is the Prostitution in Sweden model
Interestingly enough, I just read about this same model for prostitution in Sweden. It is not illegal to sell sex, but it is very illegal to buy (or facilitate) it. The pimps are cut out because the women can safely go to the police, and the potential johns have to be much more careful about breaking the law since the full force of the law falls on them. http://www.vancourier.com/Feminist+lawyer+outlines+Swedish+prostitution+success/4398890/story.html
Sure there are flaws (like johns who "silence" their victims) but the experience in Sweden shows that these are no worse than the system they replace.
This is also the opposite of "joint and several" liability here in the US. This deserves some more discussion, Mike!
opportunity cost
maybe they included the lost advertising revenue.
free is nice but not sustainable
I love the concept of free news, but it's not a sustainable business. There just aren't enough banner ads to support that kind of a model. Newspapers need ads that actually perform, or some kind of subscription revenue for continuous usage.
The only two models I've seen that make sense are the "Basic Cable" ESPN 360 model, or the "ads or cash" Ultramercial model.
By racing to be the freest we just won't have newspapers anymore - not as Web pages, brands or even APIs. Only NPR.