None of those things is actually happening – but the competing chatter illuminates uncertainty and contrary prescriptions for funding the future of digital news. Here’s what outsiders say, and what’s really going on…

1. Stop the press? Not yet

On Wednesday, a little-known blog called More About Advertising ran an unattributed report that said: “For the first time, canning the print edition and switching to a completely digital product is now being seriously discussed at the top levels of Guardian News & Media” (GNM). It didn’t take much for profitable The Telegraph, which appears to relish attempts to destabilise GNM’s business, to re-air the gossip as a news story. Rattled, GNM leaped on to the front foot, giving paidContent this statement (excerpted), which it issued widely and emailed to its staff:
“There is no truth in reports that The Guardian intends to stop printing newspapers. Our newspapers generate three-quarters of our revenue and will remain the foundations of our organisation for many years to come.”
GNM bought its current print plant in 2005 for around £80 million, stating at the time it would likely be its last. Asked in 2010 to bet when The Guardian would no longer exist in print, Rusbriger said: “I was thinking 20 years at that point (in 2005). I think that might be telescoping quite dramatically now.” In other words, the forecast of going digital-only has been brought forward from 2025.

2. No cover price? Could work, won’t happen

This week, industry folk, including those at The Guardian, admired news that the London Evening Standard has turned a £30 million annual loss in to a profit by making its print edition free in 2009. That caused some to wonder whether other papers shouldn’t follow suit…

The Standard‘s prescription is clear – even after giving up circulation revenue, it is making more money because advertisers love reaching the wider audience the paper has given them.
Some are now expecting the Standard‘s stablemate, The Independent, to repeat the tactic. The Guardian, whose print circulation is shrinking toward merely the 200,000 mark, would likely make a bigger success of the tactic than The Indy, since, even with that number, it would start with a larger following.
Such a move, ironically, would mimic The Guardian‘s affection for the online free model – on the offline pavements of British cities. If The Guardian’s circulation is diminishing to a point at which paper is simply irrelevant commercially, it could press the “digital-only” button to save money (denied, above) – or it could go for extra-large print circulation by going free, just as The Standard has done. Success however, would rely on consumer appetite for its “quality” journalism amongst an audience of time-starved young commuters.
But don’t expect such a move. A GNM spokesperson tells paidContent: “There are no plans to do that at all. We sell a premium product with appropriate pricing. We are also a national, not restricted to a single city. It’s difficult to see how the free model would work.”

3. Online charges? Not in sight

Everyone knows that, whilst The Guardian charges mobile and tablet subscriptions, it really favours free and “open” web journalism. You only have to look at some onlookers’ view to see the popular commitment to this cause:
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