Axate Steps in to Help Local Newspapers Facing Coronavirus Crisis
18 March 2020
In the light of reports that local newspaper revenues are in freefall, Axate, the casual payments system for media, is offering an immediate solution to help sustain local news provision. Any local news publisher wanting to participate can get the system up and running quickly and easily and without any up-front fees.
The COVID-19 pandemic is placing severe strain on advertising revenues at a time when providing reliable local news is a crucial public service, especially for vulnerable people. There are also potential threats to print sales as more people are reluctant to go shopping, as well as the looming challenge of distribution if normal transport arrangements are disrupted.
Axate’s platform enables users to pay casually for digital products – without subscription – for any participating publication. In light of the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have developed an additional new function which allows casual payment for online local news content to be optional. Publishers can ask their users to pay if they are able, letting them support local journalism but without locking anybody out from the coverage and local information they need.
This will help maintain the sustainability of local press during the crisis period when demand is high, advertising revenue is low and the need for reliable reporting is paramount.
Axate can offer a simple template for how to get started, and will support publishers through technical implementation. We have rolled out on over twenty publishers already, and will be using this knowledge - as well as knowledge gained from our participation in the Nesta Future News Pilot Fund projects - to make implementation as quick and simple as possible.
Axate CEO Dominic Young said: "Supporting local journalism has never been more important. We are pulling out all the stops to help newspaper businesses and readers to work together to keep local news alive. Any publisher who wants to participate should contact us at publishers@axate.com".