La Presse "sur mon ordi" with NewspaperDirect
La Presse is promoting its new electronic edition “La Presse sur mon ordi“, which uses NewspaperDirect, the same service that’s being used by The Gazette, Sun Media and others.
For people who want a newspaper subscription but don’t want the hassle of recycling newspapers, want it a bit cheaper, like the computer bells and whistles and don’t mind reading on the screen, this format is a nice option at only $10 a month (about half the price of a print subscription, consistent with other papers).
One thing that’s different about La Presse’s approach is that it wants to charge existing print subscribers $2 a month for access to the electronic version. It’s a small amount, but I imagine reaction being something along the lines of “you want me to pay for something I’ve already paid for?” (except, you know, they’d probably say it in French).
They’re offering a free 14-day trial for those who want to try it out.
Hi Steve!
I’ve seen a point made about this “paying for the electronic version” issue. I don’t know whether I’m 100% on board with this opinion, but I think it has some merit. It is as follows: Just because you’ve paid for one version of something doesn’t mean you’re entitled to get all the other versions/formats for free. Just because you bought a Beatles album on LP when it came out doesn’t entitle you to a free copy of – or even a discount on – the cassette, 8-track, cd, and mp3 versions. If you buy the painting, you don’t get the poster for free. Etcetera.
Best kept secret ever:
If you live in the provice of Quebec, you can register -FOR FREE- to Bibliotheque et archive national du Québec” to get FULL and FREE access to PressDisplay. That mean 300+ newspaper across the world, 30-40 canadian paper (including La Presse, The Gazette, National Post, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, etc…)
http://www.banq.qc.ca/portal/dt/ressources_en_ligne/bd_revues_journaux/types/bd_revues_journaux_types.jsp
click “PressDisplay’.
To register: http://www.banq.qc.ca/portal/dt/services/abonnement/abonnement_distance/abonnement_distance.jsp
“Vous devez remplir le formulaire d’abonnement aux services offerts à distance pour obtenir votre numéro de client et votre mot de passe. Vous recevrez d’abord une confirmation d’abonnement par courriel puis par la poste dans les jours suivants. Cette confirmation contient votre numéro de client et votre mot de passe.”
Erin: many record labels offer a password to download, for free, mp3 versions of LPs. I buy a lot of music (well, did, when I had a good paying job) on vinyl and often a little slip of paper will fall out giving me a website address and password to get the electronic version. I think the same thing makes sense for newspapers as well.