A move by Rupert Murdoch to stash the content of his global media empire behind a paywall, and the rather unseemly rush with which any number of publishers desperate for new revenue sources followed him, serves as but another indication that all is not well in the world of media.

There have always been publishers who, with varying levels of success, have charged for their content. They tend to be specialist products, or offer high powered financial content like the FT.com or the Wall Street Journal does, but the commoditisation of news and the strategic decision by independent online publishers to embrace and publish high quality opinion and analysis (something newspapers have claimed will be their saving grace) have meant that most content stayed free.

The debate has now spilled over to South Africa since Avusa, publisher of the Sunday Times, The Times, Sowetan, Sunday World plus regional titles such as The Herald, Daily Dispatch and others, announced its intention to introduce paywalls on certain of its content properties.

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