@arusbridger @kenauletta @carr2n there should be a timeline of quotes of people saying 'now is the time to charge' ..going back to 2002
@emilybell @arusbridger @kenauletta @carr2n yes, it would go nicely alongside the chart of the accumulated financial losses- @johngapper @arusbridger @kenauletta @carr2n ....and the major stories which change national/international institutions and discourse?
@emilybell IMHO, they are not a strategy just a short term tactic.- @emilybell @arusbridger @kenauletta @carr2n well, the end of the story ain't been written, so we'll see whether it was a sound investment
- .@johngapper interesting cost benefit analysis. As @dicktofel talked about the cost of the Tylenol story being $750k. How do you value it?
- .@johngapper so..what would you consider a reasonable cost for the Guardian's journalistic achievement and the impact they might have?
- .@johngapper , not a trolling question but, seriously, how would you evaluate curren @guardian balance sheet in terms of 'value' or 'worth'?
- @emilybell My fear is the industry takes the short term paywall money and stands down on true digital innovation.
- @emilybell If Guardian pulls out of its financial nosedive before the trust goes bust, fine. If not, there won't be a long-term.
- .@johngapper that is just basic maths of sustainability. But it doesn't answer my question. Is 'return on investment' only monetary?
- @emilybell no, but if the Grauniad goes bust, its social purpose dies too.
- @emilybell @guardian I think the brand is worth a lot and someone will always rescue it. But then it won't be owned by a trust anymore.
- . @johngapper @guardian this presumes journalism and it's successful impact always correlate with profitability. A discredited notion,surely
- @emilybell @guardian you're being obtuse, Emily. If it goes bust, the rest goes too. And it's currently heading that way.
- .@johngapper two things.a. It is not going bust, it has a cross subsidy model you don't like. b. 'the rest' has happened.
- @emilybell if a. is true, then fine. I think it's unproven, to put it mildly. As to b., that implies it can pack up now, which seems odd.
- . @johngapper but you also want to decouple an extraordinary 20 plus years of editorial achievement from its business model. Not possible
- @emilybell As I say, if it pulls out of the nosedive, fine. If not, history will judge that it was a terminal blunder.
- .@johngapper no, it means when you say the 'rest goes too' that's a corporate lens on societal benefit.
- @emilybell I'm merely observing that if it stops publishing, there ain't no societal benefit any more.
- @felixsalmon @johngapper my point is this: is the @guardian investment 'worth it'? You cannot answer that in ROI terms.
- @jamesrbuk @johngapper yes of course you are right...because it represents the most uncomfortable truth for news 'industry'.
