Is it time for a Web licence fee?

The Internet is free- that goes without saying but anyone either connected with or vaguely interested in the media will know that this very fact is gradually strangling the life out of the print media industry. The evidence is there for all to see, Maxim stops printing and goes online, Press Gazette shuts down and hundreds of local journalism jobs are culled not to mention the cash squeeze going on at most of our national press including the Independent and the Telegraph. So is it the dreaded recession that is causing life as we know it in print media to end or is it actually the increasing dominance that the Internet plays in our lives? The fact is that it's both- the recession is certainly not helping as advertising budgets are retrenching and spending is being cut but let's not forget the Web and it's growing dominance not just as a media but actually as a lifestyle manager. Peter Preston in today's Observer sums it up perfectly-
'But when (Rupert) Murdoch says (as he did the other day): "Nobody is making money with free content on the web except search, and people are used to reading everything on the net for free - and that's going to have to change", there's no point not facing brute fact. Free may be lovely, but it's also increasingly tatty and second-rate.'
So what's the solution? Well one thing is for sure, last week's Digital Britain summit certainly didnt find the answer! One potential idea is explored by Preston and is about splitting the BBC's licence fee- which is without doubt starting to lose relevance because for the Internet generation, they don't need a TV licence or a TV for that matter to watch TV...Iplayer anybody?
Splitting the licence fee, Preston believes could help fund both the BBC's traditional activities- radio and TV but also the dying print and news organisations who have stuggled for years to establish web-friendly business models or to be relevant to the Web generation. It's certainly controversial, no-one will want to pay for something that is essentially free but if innovation is supported and established brands become more relevant then the outcry could be short term.
It may not be the complete answer but it's clear that the debate has now started and the realisation is there that the Web is not just a media channel in isolation, it's all consuming and it's all media and it's not going to go away!