The day the Sun took away the shadows

Simon Nias at MediaWeek suggests that the fall can be partly attributed to the Telegraph and Washington Post allowing their readers to download 20 articles a month for free. Helping to transition customers onto their subscription service. But I suspect there might be other psychological barriers.

As a self confessed Sun addict (now recovering) I would balance my news intake between a healthy dose of the Guardian, before binging myself on tabloid rubbish. It became a rather guilty secret, like those junk food urges we have. I knew it would never satisfy my hunger, but somehow it was still enjoyable at the time. And like an addict I would get that feeling of regret afterwards.

However insignificant the Sun’s membership might be, to me it’s the uncomfortable confrontation that all addicts have when facing their addictions. I don’t want to admit I read it, I know it’s bad for me and deep down there’s a little bit of shame attached to the pleasure. So the paywall has helped to wean me off my tabloid fix, along with I’m sure a portion of other readers as well. I may occasionally lapse (and heaven forbid you ever find me frequenting the Daily Mirror), but there’s a good feeling found in having it taken away from me. It’s like finding the bottom of a bag of Haribo and knowing you can’t have any more.

And this for me is one of the problems the Sun faces. For whilst it’s crossed the divide to popular mainstream in a way that no other UK tabloid has achieved. It’s taken it’s popularity for granted and forgotten the first rule of marketing. Know your customer.

Only time will tell whether fee paying readers can fill the void in internet traffic. But what I do know is that like a January gym membership, I will be spending my subscription money on something that at least feels a bit healthier.