Your News Content Is Worth Zero to Digital Consumers

[Commentary] News publishers expecting to make money from their digital readers will need to figure out how to offer something tangible -- and mobile represents big-time opportunity, especially for phone applications. The key to getting paid for news in digital format is that what's being sold is not fleeting. "It" may be digital bits that remain on your device(s); it may be a service that's always available to you (as opposed to news content, which is fleeting). Paid news memberships. With a membership to a news organization (or consortium), you get something: a membership card (physical perhaps, or a digital ID to show on your mobile phone) to be used repeatedly to get special privileges (a discount at an advertising restaurant; front-section seats to a Thomas Friedman lecture; access to premium digital content; etc.). 2. Access. Think "preferred e-mail" that gets your message bumped to the front of the line weekly live chats with authors, discount tickets and premium seating to public lectures, member-only invitations to columnist-reader in-person discussions, and extra content unavailable to others. 3. Special Web applications for PCs. If apps sell so well on mobile phones (albeit at generally very low prices), can news companies sell applications for the PC that offer consumers an enhanced experience over reading news on a Web site?