In its most recent project, “social news” site Rappler is promoting a new members-only service its audience could opt into for 3,500 pesos a year. The new service, Rappler PLUS, offers members access to…
…exclusive content that gives deeper perspective on a wide range of topics, as well as opportunities for collaboration with other members of the Rappler community.
Unlike the Philippines’ more established media organisations which own and operate revenue-generating assets such as print and broadcast businesses, Rappler has always lacked a reliable source of sustained revenue.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
Paywalls are one way media organisations monetise their content. Big media organisations like The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald had recently implemented similar services. According to Rappler‘s marketing pitch, Rappler PLUS also offers members access to its community of self-described “thought leaders” who offer opportunities to “collaborate” presumably on projects that go towards the furthering of “Rappler’s brand of journalism: uncompromising, providing clarity and vision”, among others.
If this is the value proposition behind Rappler PLUS, there is still much to wonder about as to what exactly one’s takeaway from membership in this new service will be. Content one is willing to pay for — like books and Netflix, for example — often involve some form of entertainment. Non-enterainment premium content like consulting white papers, online courses and intelligence are expensive to produce and often require proven track records in a brand of delivering competitive edges to its customers’ businesses or personal well-being.
The key now is for the target cliques of its audience to buy into the concept — to the tune of Php3500 a year. It begins by answering the simple question: So what? So what if I am a Rappler PLUS member? What outcomes could I expect? This is ultimately what Rappler‘s marketing pitch needs to answer clearly.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Why pay for one ? It is free on Benigno’s GRP, and other blogger media networks. Maria Reesa’s Rappler.com, is trying to earn funds to pay for her unpaid income taxes.
The ABS CBN network where, her Rappler.com came from, is getting bankrupt . The Aquinos lost the Hacienda Luisita; so there are no sources of funds. The Aquino Cojuangco political axis, were not able to get back to power, thru their surrogate, Fake Vice President, Lugaw Robredo. No more funds to steal, like : PDAF, DAP, Typhoon Yolanda funds, etc…Maria Reesa has to be on her own , to finance their propaganda machine in the internet.
Become a founding member of the Rappler.com and what ?
HECK, NO ! I wouldn’t
NOT WORTH IT !!! Why would I buy POLITICAL faux-analysis content? I want content that is credible not incredible from “reliable” sources.
Here is my beef with “reliable” sources in the Philippines … they are not really reliable … it is nothing more than 2ndhand uncorroborated gossips.
POLITICAL ANALYSIS? Jeeez …. there are plenty of political analysts out there depending on their political leanings and biases …
P3,500/year? At USD$5.50/month? Instead, I am going to give my cleaning lady that much. I will tell her the increase is coming from my not buying “exclusive content” from Rappler.
MEMBERS ONLY? FAKE NEWS has become a Members Only? Are they nuts?
*** Well, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal ARE NOT MEMBERS ONLY news site … “SUBSCRIBE TO READ” news website ***
Benign0 should give Rappler and Ressa some slack …. because Rappler+Ressa are Filipinos. Filipino is their 1st-Language. English is their trying-hard to be their 1stLanguage.
***RAPPLER MUST not have meant Members Only but SUBSCRIPTION ***
On the other hand … “MEMBERS ONLY” connotes ELITIST-ism … IT GIVES AN AURA of exclusivity not inclusivity. Why? Because only Yellows read FAKE NEWS. REAL PEOPLE read real news not Fake News.
Since Ressa was once employed by Fake News CNN, obviously, she peddles snake news.
“EXCLUSIVE CONTENT”?
***Whatever happened to FREE PRESS? It is not PAID PRESS? SUBSCRIBE TO READ?***
MY GRANDMA WAS RIGHT … eventually there will no longer FREE PRESS and FREE SPEECH … These are paid to read content … and the right to talk-&-comment in the Media.
GOOD BYE FREE PRESS … Everything costs nowadays.
I greet all fellow bloggers at GRP : a Happy New Year ! Welcome 2019. May we continue to write blogs that will help our fellow Filipinos overcome their negative characteristics. May we continue to expose corrupt politicians, who are self serving. May we continue to battle , Fake News, and biased opinions that are politically motivated and paid by crooked politicians.
Political trolls will always be with us. May we not be disturbed by them…and continue our missions to be better internet bloggers ,,,Thanks to Benigno, our webmaster for giving us opportunities to blog on GRP …more power to this Blogsite !
Thanks Hyden. Happy New Year to all!
Here are exclusive content must read websites. They consult experts in politics, military, foreign affairs and law NOT JUST SOME MERE JOURNALISTS:
1. Politico
2. The Hill
3. Axios
4. Huffingtonpost
5. Daily Beast
6. Vox
See, in the Philippines those who consider themselves as journalists become experts on all of subject matters without consulting subject matter experts like lawyers, engineers, economists and military people (well, in the Philippines they maybe lawyers, engineers and in military but not worthy they just sucks)
In American news media they interview experts. They cover everything including stock market. Rappler is solely dedicated and addicted to …. ta …. da …. POLITICS !!!! Just like CNN where Ressa came from.
This is bad addiction. I go to my faved fish vendor and all she talks is about POLITICS … my Barber talks about POLITICS …. in Carenderia they talk POLITICS … POLITICS … POLITICS … HA! HA! HA! HA!
Of course, what else they are going to talk about when all NEWS IN THE PHILIPPINES IS ALL ABOUT POLITICS …. and, I FORGOT, dowdy artless entertainment…. DOES ANYBODY NOTICE … Philippine actors, actresses and basketball players ARE GETTING WHITER ? Where are the browns ?
DOES RAPPLER AND THE REST OF FAKE NEWS ANALYZED EFFECT OF DOW JONES IN PHILIPPINE MARKET? NADA !!!!
If MSE goes down they blame it on Duterte … inflation goes up? … Duterte …. devaluation? DUTERTE …. DUTERTE …. DUTERTE ….. The Philippine Fake News cannot seem to link the overseas event to local happenstance …. JEEEEZ !!!!
C’mon …. where are the so-called “THOUGHT LEADERS” if there are any ….
Acting U.S. Attorney General Whitaker caught lying in his resume … all the way back …. years … and years ….
HOW MANY CABINET, SENATORS, CONGRESSMEN and PRESIDENTS lied on their resume and …. ta …. da …. SALNs?
*** NOBODY KNOWS !!! Because journalists are not looking into it. Our journalists look into resumes and tax returns and taxes paid … ***
BUT NOT IN THE PHILIPPINES …. In the Philippines they can lie all they want and never get caught … Even in their faces … in journalist faces …
RAPPLER “FACT-CHECKING” is a total failure …. because they do not fact check at all …. NOW, NOW, RAPPLER … here is a hint … and it is a command … I WANT RAPPLER TO CHECK ON SALNs who are lying …. OK? Rappler? Hellllo !!! Rappler are you there? What about the rest of the fake news?
Why Rappler and the rest of the Fake News never bother SALNs? Because SALNs are numbers … they require accountants and people to verify their mansions tie to their SALNs … they lack money …. accountants are not cheap …. SO THESE PEOPLE, the journalists, PREFER GOSSIPS !!!!
GOSSIPS especially intriguing ones makes good money … BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT FILIPINOS WANTED TO READ …. GOSSIPS ! INTRIGUES !!!
3500 for that kind of content?!?!?!? OMG SURE WHY THE HELL NOT? hahahaha
No, I won’t gonna join that exclusive club of Rappler & I doubt, if someone gonna register to Rappler Plus, their account will be stolen & then by the following months, their monthly credit card billing will balloon to more than P 10,000 rather than P 291.67 a month (that’s P 3500/12, if you’ll divide it by 12 months that’s equivalent to a year). That’s an online estafa/bribe, & this is a new type of scheme that’s now a huge problem on internet security & data privacy among the individuals. This is what happened to my boss’ wife when her credit card billing went ballooned to that kind of amount & it was billed from a Facebook ad that she didn’t registered there.
Rappler might face another legal case in the near future if they’ll continue that kind of scheme and these lawsuits are the violation of the Anti-Cybercrime Law & Data Privacy Act of 2012.
Now we’re all know where they’ll gonna get the money in order to pay their tax evasion case.
This is just some kind of coverup, so they don’t get questioned where they get their funding from. They can claim that their funding came ALL their loyal subscribers although it can STILL only come from one (1) person.
Digital media is also dying down and the paywall subscription model won’t work on the long run, doesn’t help that the foreign fake news networks tends to follow and cite each other’s works while no longer being subtle about their biases, regardless what our local caps-lock liberal screecher foreigner troll in these comment sections say, not even the Holiday can make him stop with his poor analysis that these type of business models won’t work because several have shut down or downsized themselves or looking for a business investor or buyer.
We saw the world from the Rappler’s point of view, and it looked unbearably lonely.