Kevin: Oliver Luft at the Press Gazette gives more details about the just 'halted' paywall experiment at Johnson Press, a regional (local) newspaper publisher in the UK. Oliver writes, "The scheme saw the publisher trial different access methods across the six papers; reader registration, uploading "teaser" stories which referred readers back to full versions in the print edition, and paid-for access."

Kevin: UK local (regional) newspaper group Johnson Press has 'quietly' dropped its local paywall experiment. "The apparently dismal level of uptake for the JP trial is bound to cast doubt on whether paywalls are a viable business model for the regional press." I think it's important to keep the lessons focused on the regional press and not extrapolate those to other paywall experiments, most notably at the Murdoch's Times (London).

Kevin: It's often difficult to come by hard numbers and agreed upon metrics when it comes to the impact of social media on traditional media so it's great that NPR in the US is sharing numbers publicly about how social media engagement strategies are reaping benefits. Ben Robins and Sandra Lozano write: "The results (of research) provided us with a first look at how social media is not only changing the way that news organizations report the news, but how some listeners are learning to engage in new and different ways."