New York Times Mulls Charging Web Readers

[LiviaOlivia]

New York Times Mulls Charging Web Readers
01-07-2005
By Martha Graybow
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=575&u=/nm/20050107/wr_nm/media_nytimes_dc_3&printer=1


NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times Co. is considering subscription fees to the online version of its flagship newspaper, which now is available for free, but it has no immediate plans to do so, the company said on Friday.

One of the paper's biggest rivals, Dow Jones & Co. Inc.'s Wall Street Journal, charges for its online edition. A New York Times spokeswoman said the company is reviewing whether it should make any business changes to the online version but that no shifts were imminent.

"We are reviewing the site to see whether or not there would be any areas where we should change the business model," said the spokeswoman, Catherine Mathis, adding: "This is not new. We've been discussing this for some time."

According to the upcoming issue of BusinessWeek magazine, whose cover story focuses on The New York Times Co., an internal debate has been raging at the newspaper over whether its online edition, which had about 18.5 million unique monthly visitors as of November, should adopt a subscription fee.

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[BrklynLiberal]

1. HA! It's barely worth reading for free! I sure would not pay to read it!

[NYC]

5. I wouldn't either.

And they stopped letting you do the crossword puzzle for free quite a while ago.

...which had about 18.5 million unique monthly visitors...

That is interesting. That does not account for people who log in using the same ID.

[Renew Deal]

2. At least I won't be reading their crap.

I'm not paying for garbage.

[skypilot]

3. That is SO funny.

I JUST--not two minutes ago--deleted my bookmark for the New York Times Online. I haven't been reading it and I just heard Randi Rhodes talking about how the NYT referred to anyone who questioned the result of the election--especially in Ohio--as "conspiracy theorists". I promptly deleted the bookmark and then I saw your post. Too funny. Screw the NYT.

[judge_smales]

4. .

When they opened that site, about 3 years ago I think, they said than that it would go pay in the future. Not a surprize really.

[papau]

6. Repackaged wire stories plus pundit lies - why would the "left" pay

to be insulted.

Indeed the WSJ has the East coast right - so who the hell is their market?

Is advertising no longer a viable model?

[el_gato]

7. hey NYT Go Fuck Yourself...We Don't Need YOU!

Maybe you can fire Judith Miller to make up for you sinking bottom line.

[apple_ridge]

8. I will miss the writings of Paul Krugman, but I'm not going to shell

out money to read that rag on-line.

[KamaAina]

9. It's not just the Times. It's the entire Web as a news source.

Newspaper industry consultant John Morton, who heads Morton Research Inc., said he thinks many newspapers want to wean readers off free online content and transform their Web sites into paid-only publications.

Free editions of newspapers on the Web are "quickly falling out of favor," he said. "I think you will see newspapers selling electronic subscriptions or print subscriptions, or a combination of both, which is what the Wall Street Journal does, and has been very successful at."

I, for one, am not interested in buying a subscription to every paper in the country so that I can (for instance) go to the Columbia State when there's a massive train wreck in S.C. (like yesterday).

The alternatives are generally the sites of local TV and radio stations -- but even there, a few will get you (WWL-TV in New Orleans: booooooo!)

The question is this: Is the Web a means for people to get the information they need from wherever it's happening, or is it just another medium the corporate media can use to shake us down for $$$$$?

[CatholicEdHead]

11. Latter

it is all about money in the end.

I go all over mostly because of Google News. I hit the NYT and other sites every so often from links from there.

If the goal is to remove the web as a source of news that goes against politically correct talking points, then this is one way to do it.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. I'll return to reading it at the library before I pay them for online.