5QQ Vivian Schiller is the president and CEO of National Public Radio, which she joined at the end of 2008 after seven years at The New York Times Co. During her tenure at the Times, where she was most recently the SVP and general manager of NYTimes.com, she oversaw a complete overhaul of the paper's website and dismantled TimesSelect, an early attempt at charging for content online. Schiller's leadership at NPR has also meant a redesigned website. With her experience at the premiere newspaper website and now at NPR, which she touts as the oldest pay model in broadcast, Schiller knows as much as anybody about online pay models. Earlier this week she came to New York to prove it, participating in a debate with Journalism Online founder Steve Brill — "The Great Digital Debate: Free vs. Paid Content Online." Now she answers our 5QQ — Five Quick Questions. (more...)

After years of being accused of playing the role of all four horsemen in the apocalypse of tradition media, Google has just whipped up a feature that may prove to be the answer to paid content newspapers have been desperate for. According to Nieman Lab, the system would be an "extension of Google Checkout." Ironically the plan is apparently Google's response to the Newspaper Association of America's cry for help where paid content is concerned. (more...)

VIDEO Stupid. The definition of stupidity. Idiotic. Beyond belief. A Disaster. These are the words that Steve Brill uses to describe the way media outlets are passing out their wares for free on the web in an interview with The Atlantic's Bob Cohn at the Aspen Ideas Festival. (more...)