Very nice review of the core issues of subscriber value, and the fact that “Right now, the news industry is reluctant to consider anything beyond the lock-up-the-customer-model.” As you say, they should learn to be more customer-relationship-value-driven, like the other businesses you cite — building loyalty loops based on trust, not coercion.

I suggest some ways to go further in reducing consumer risk and building trust, to make subscriptions affordable to a broader market, and to encourage them to subscribe to more publishers in “‘Risk-Free’ Subscriptions to The Celestial Jukebox?”