I couldn’t believe my eyes when I tried reading an article on the Guardian last night. I know most newspapers are struggling to survive, kind of like the terrestrial TV stations as well. I just hadn’t expected they were actually going to put up a paywall!

Once I saw this, I deleted my account and deleted the app as well. Sadly.

I just think these newspapers need a new revenue model. I’m sure some corporate accounts will be registering for their pay service but regular people will be excluded for good. I can’t imagine many ordinary people paying for news that they can see on Twitter or YouTube most times before the big newspapers even get it.

It’s not like Netflix or something where they can have ‘original content’ since it’s just the news. Yes, just the news. Doesn’t matter how dramatically you write about a river bursting its banks or a thief getting caught, most people just want the headline and a one liner before moving on. So to me, charging £10 a month for someone’s take on a video they stole from Twitter just seems laughable.

There are some things I’d read all day if they’re free to access but I definitely won’t be paying for a newspaper. Wow. I’m shocked.

To unlock full access to the Guardian’s news app, you need to either:

• Have set up a monthly or annual payment that includes ‘supporter extras’ 
• Take out a subscription within the app
• Hold a digital subscription
• Be a ‘member’

Regardless of your choice today, please, rest assured that Guardian journalism remains open and free on our website.

Guardian website

So it’s still free on the website, for now. But come on, everyone uses apps these days.

Honestly I’m so disappointed. The Guardian was the only newspaper app on my phone and had been for probably the last 10 years! 😩

I guess from now on I’ll go to Twitter / X for all the breaking news! That has its own set of upsides and downsides.